The 2025 Preakness Stakes had an exciting finish, but it also showed a problem that is getting worse in the world of horse racing. Fans saw Journalism make an amazing comeback to win, but the sport wasted a great chance to get mainstream attention and tell a great story for the Triple Crown season.
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Pimlico’s Final Moments Before a $400 Million Transformation
Pimlico Race Course has been a symbol of tradition and deterioration in the heart of Baltimore for decades. It hasn’t been used much over the years, but it remains important since it hosts the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. Plans are moving forward to knock down and rebuild Pimlico with a $400 million state-funded investment. This makes the stakes higher than ever for Maryland and the future of this historic institution.
But here’s the problem: horse racing has a hard time keeping people’s interest across the country for more than five weeks a year, even with an exciting race like the one we witnessed in 2025.
The Absence of a Rivalry: A Blown Chance for Relevance
When Journalism came from behind in one of the hardest stretch runs in recent memory to win the 150th Preakness, it was a performance that deserved to be on the front page. Those headlines, on the other hand, never really came true. Why? Because Sovereignty, the winner of the Kentucky Derby, wasn’t there.
The Preakness lost its story momentum when Sovereignty wasn’t there. A possible rematch between Sovereignty and Journalism, who fought hard in the Derby, may have gotten people all across the sporting world excited. Instead, Sovereignty’s team chose not to participate, saying that the rapid two-week turnaround was too much for their horse to handle.
A Flawed Triple Crown Structure
This is where the systemic difficulties in horse racing become clear. There are three separate groups in charge of the Triple Crown: Churchill Downs (Kentucky Derby), Pimlico (Preakness), and the New York Racing Association (Belmont Stakes). This is different from most professional sports leagues. This broken method makes it almost impossible to construct a timetable that places the best horses on the track for all three races at the same time.
People have asked for the Triple Crown calendar to be spread out so that horses have more time to heal and the chances of big rematches go up. But since there is no one group in charge of all the races, any reforms would require these powerful groups to work together in ways they have never done before.
Why This Matters for Maryland and Horse Racing’s Future
Maryland is putting a lot of money into the future of horse racing by putting money into Pimlico’s restoration. But there is one thing that will determine if that investment pays off: making sure that the Preakness continues to draw the winner of the Kentucky Derby. If the best horses don’t race, people won’t be as interested, and the return on investment might not be as high.
This isn’t simply a problem in Maryland. It also has an effect on the Belmont Stakes. If there isn’t a Triple Crown on the line or a rivalry to follow, the Belmont is just another race on the calendar. When there isn’t an interesting story to tell, the whole sport suffers.
A Call to Action for Horse Racing’s Leaders
Horse racing requires more than just one spectacular finish to stay popular in today’s congested sports and entertainment scene. It needs stories. Conflicts. People. A motive for casual fans to watch, not simply ardent bettors or long-time supporters.
The 2025 Preakness proved that the talent is still there. A star is in journalism. Sovereignty is a good competitor. But the sport squandered the potential to let them shine on the largest stages one after the other.
Now is the opportunity for leaders in the business to join together as Pimlico gets ready to close for a while and shift the Preakness to Laurel Park for a few years. They need to ask themselves one simple question: What will help horse racing in the future?
This sport won’t survive on amazing races alone. Only excellent stories will do.
