The Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty won’t run in the Preakness Stakes on May 17, forgoing the chance to win a Triple Crown.
“We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness,” Mike Rogers, executive vice president of 1/ST, said in a statement Tuesday. “Bill informed us they would point toward the Belmont Stakes. We extend our congratulations to the connections of Sovereignty and respect their decision.”
Sovereignty, whose odds closed at 7-1, won the 151st Kentucky Derby by 1 1/2 lengths on Saturday, running by favorite Journalism down the homestretch. The Derby win was the second for Mott, who also won via disqualification in 2019 with Country House.
After the Derby, Michael Banahan, the director of USA bloodstock for Sovereignty owner Godolphin, said Mott would ultimately decide if the horse would be fit enough to race in the Preakness.
“I think we’re going to leave that up to the trainer. He’s in the Hall of Fame for a lot of good reasons,” Banahan said. “[Sovereignty] ran really hard today. And especially when you get a closer from off the pace like that, they have to lay their body on the line a little bit.
“We’ll see how he comes out of it.”
While the Derby win was the second for Mott, it was the first for ownership group Godolphin as well as for jockey Junior Alvarado, who was winless in five previous Derby races.
Sovereignty won $3.1 million with the first-place finish at Churchill Downs.
The Preakness will be held at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, followed by the Belmont Stakes on June 7 at Saratoga Race Course in New York.
