Horse racing’s Triple Crown will look different this year from start to finish.
The Belmont Stakes will be run before the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes for the first time and take place at a shorter distance. The Belmont Stakes will lead off the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing on June 20 at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York, with no fans in attendance and at a distance of 1 1/8 miles instead of the 1 1/2-mile “test of the champion” that has been the race’s trademark for nearly a century.
“The way it fits in the calendar, it’s a completely different race than the traditional Belmont would be,” New York Racing Association president and CEO Dave O’Rourke said Tuesday. “I think we’re going to have a big field. I think it’ll be a really competitive field. I think the dynamics of the race are different.”
The three Triple Crown races will be run out of their traditional order for the first time since 1931. The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville was moved from May 2 to Sept. 5 and the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore from May 16 to Oct. 3 amid the coronavirus pandemic that has upended the sports calendar.
“I’m just happy we get to run,” two-time Triple Crown-winning trainer Bob Baffert said. “I’m just fortunate that they didn’t cancel any of them. A couple months ago, it didn’t look good.”