Horse racing’s schedule is getting a makeover, which may be the death knell for the Preakness and the iconic Triple Crown. The New York Racing Association (NYRA) and Churchill Downs Incorporated have announced a partnership to form the Thoroughbred Championship Series (TCS), a collection of six races that begins with the Kentucky Derby in May and ends with a championship race in September.

The Impact on the Preakness

The six-race series does not include the Preakness, conveniently skipping from the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday of May to the Belmont Stakes in early June. This leaves little wiggle room for the Maryland Jockey Club, which oversees the Preakness, to move off its traditional date two weeks after the Derby.

Bill Knauf, the president and general manager of the Maryland Jockey Club, will make an announcement on Wednesday. NYRA and Churchill Downs organizers made no mention of the Preakness, calling the Derby, Belmont, Matt Winn Stakes, Jim Dandy Stakes, Travers Stakes, and the as-yet-unnamed Championship Race the sport’s “defining races.”

A New Era for Horse Racing

The series is designed to follow a pattern familiar to sports fans: a playoff-like series that includes standings and ends with a champion. The aim is to continue the energy of the Triple Crown over the full season and give fans a reason to stay with the sport’s best three-year-olds from May into the fall.

Traditionalists argue that the Triple Crown is meant to be hard, and it is not impossible. American Pharoah won it in 2015, and Justify won it three years later. However, no horse has won both the Derby and Preakness since Justify.

Original reporting: WPBF West Palm Beach — read the source article.