Preakness to move to Sunday, three weeks after Derby * The Racing Biz

Preakness to move to Sunday, three weeks after Derby

NBC to continue broadcasting Middle Jewel

The Biz
August 5, 2026

The Preakness Stakes will undergo the most significant scheduling change in its 154-year history beginning in 2027, as Maryland officials, the Maryland Jockey Club, and NBC Sports announced Wednesday that the middle jewel of the Triple Crown will be contested on Sunday, May 23, 2027—three weeks after the Kentucky Derby and eight days later than its traditional date.

The move, unveiled at a press conference in Annapolis by Gov. Wes Moore, Maryland Jockey Club officials, and NBC Sports executives, is designed to provide horses with an additional week between the Kentucky Derby and Preakness while creating a two-day festival of racing over Memorial Day weekend in most years.

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Under the new format, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes card will shift from its traditional Friday slot to Saturday, May 22, with both the Black-Eyed Susan and Preakness receiving national broadcasts on NBC and Peacock in the late afternoon and early evening. The Preakness, first run in 1873, will cap the weekend on Sunday.

The announcement came alongside a multi-year extension of the Maryland Jockey Club’s media rights agreement with NBC Sports, ensuring the Preakness, Black-Eyed Susan, and related programming will remain on NBC and Peacock through 2032. The agreement extends a partnership that began in 2001 and will make NBCUniversal the first media company to televise the Preakness for three decades, covering 32 consecutive editions of the race.

“We believe the Preakness and the entire Triple Crown series are positioned for growth and great success,” Maryland Jockey Club CEO Bill Knauf said. “This extra week between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness opens the Preakness to potential participants who use modern training methods.”

Knauf said the goal is both to preserve the tradition of Kentucky Derby runners returning in the Preakness while adapting to evolving training philosophies.

“We are going to build a championship weekend in Baltimore, with the Black-Eyed Susan now on Saturday,” he said. “In most years, this new date falls on Memorial Day weekend, and we believe this creates tremendous excitement for our local economy and businesses. Baltimore will become the place to be on Memorial Day weekends, as the spotlight of the racing world descends on Pimlico.”

Knauf also pointed to the state’s broader investment in Maryland racing, including the planned reconstruction of Pimlico Race Course, development of a new training center at Laurel Park, and the state’s acquisition of the Preakness intellectual property.

Gov. Moore said the changes position the race for long-term success.

“We have successfully secured the future of Preakness here in the state of Maryland for decades to come,” Moore said. “The continuation of this relationship and the new schedule ensures optimal and accessible coverage for everyone from horse racing experts to casual fans, as our administration continues making historic investments and leveraging the iconic race as a cornerstone of Maryland’s history, culture and economy.”

NBC Sports President of Acquisitions & Partnerships Jon Miller said the network welcomes the expanded weekend format.

“We are excited to continue our relationship as the media home of the Preakness Stakes and look forward to an enhanced schedule, showcasing Maryland’s best races on both Saturday and Sunday,” Miller said. “This extension is a testament to the strength of the relationship between the Maryland Jockey Club and NBC Sports and underscores our commitment to horse racing.”

The new agreement also means NBC Sports now holds long-term U.S. media rights to the Kentucky Derby and Preakness through 2032, the Breeders’ Cup World Championships through 2030, and Royal Ascot through 2028.

The announcement came two days after Churchill Downs Inc. and the New York Racing Association announced a new series of races for three-year-olds that freezes out the Preakness and two other Mid-Atlantic Grade 1 races, Monmouth’s Haskell Stakes and the Pennsylvania Derby at Parx Racing.

Trainer Graham Motion, who won the 2011 Preakness with Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom, welcomed efforts to encourage more Derby starters to compete in Baltimore.

“Bringing the Derby winner to the Preakness is unlike anything else in racing,” Motion said. “I was lucky enough to experience it with Animal Kingdom. The energy is incredible, and it feels like the whole crowd is behind you. It’s a moment every trainer dreams of.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, a two-time winner of the Triple Crown and the winningest Preakness trainer of all time, urged the sport not to toss the Triple Crown.

“The greatest achievement in racing will always be winning the Triple Crown – The Kentucky Derby, The Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes,” Baffert wrote on X. “The Triple Crown has sustained our sport for more than 150 years, and it will continue to do so for another 150 years or more if we appreciate and care for it. The Preakness is integral to racing’s history, present, and future, and I hope nothing detracts from its significance.”