BALTIMORE — The postponed Preakness Stakes will be run Oct. 3, according to a WBAL-TV report. However, owners of Pimlico Race Course refused to confirm the new date for the second jewel of horse racing’s Triple Crown series.
The race was originally scheduled for May 16, but the Maryland Jockey Club and Gov. Larry Hogan announced it would be postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March, shortly after Churchill Downs Inc. shifted the Kentucky Derby from May 2 to Sept. 5.
The Jockey Club and NBC Sports did not immediately respond to messages seeking confirmation of the new Preakness date.
“The Stronach Group/The Maryland Jockey Club is aware of speculation about a potential date for Preakness 145,” the Jockey Club said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “At this point in time, there is no definitive date set and we continue to explore options. Once a date for Preakness 145 has been finalized, an official announcement will be made.”
The Jockey Club previously canceled its Preakness InfieldFest for 2020.
An Oct. 3 Preakness would raise significant questions about the fall racing calendar and the order of the Triple Crown series. The New York Racing Association has yet to announce postponement plans for the Belmont Stakes, which remains on the calendar for June 6. The Breeders’ Cup is scheduled for the first weekend of November. So owners and trainers of top 3-year-olds could be forced to make difficult decisions about where to run their horses.
Maryland has not hosted live racing since mid-March, when Hogan placed restrictions on businesses and public gatherings because of the pandemic. But the state’s horsemen have expressed hopes that spectator-free racing could return later this month at either Laurel Park or Pimlico Race Course if the state allows an initial wave of business re-openings.
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