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Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty will not compete in the Grade 1 Preakness on May 17, effectively ending any chance at a Triple Crown in 2025, Preakness Stakes officials announced on Tuesday (May 6).
"We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness," said Mike Rogers, executive vice president of 1/ST, in a news release obtained by the Kentucky Courier-Journal. "We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision."
Sovereignty is, however, expected to return for the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, at Saratoga on June 7. The 3-year-old colt won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs by 1 1/2 over the heavily-favored Journalism on Saturday (May 3).
Sovereignty's trainer, Bill Mott, initially said, "No," when asked if it would be a hard decision to skip the Preakness Stakes on Sunday (May 4).
“Over the years people have realized that spacing these horses out a little bit gives you the opportunity to make them last a little longer,” Mott said via the Kentucky Courier-Journal. “We’re looking at a career, and you want the career to last more than five weeks.”
Rich Strike, who won in 2022, was the last Kentucky Derby winner to skip the Preakness and finished sixth in the Belmont Stakes and never won another race, while every other Derby winner from 1997 to 2018 competed in the Preakness.