If You're A Fan Of Triple Crowns, There's Always Next Year Because Sovereignty Is Skipping The Preakness

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One of the most thrilling things in sports is watching a horse compete for the Triple Crown. It's an incredible feat that rallies the entire country around one horse and the diminutive guy sitting on its back.

Unfortunately, if you love a Triple Crown pursuit as much as most people, you're going to have to wait until next year at the earliest with news that Kentucky Derby champ Sovereignty will not compete in the Preakness.

"We received a call today from trainer Bill Mott that Sovereignty will not be competing in the Preakness. Bill informed us they would point toward the Belmont Stakes," Mike Rogers, executive vice president of 1/ST Racing, operators of the Preakness, said in a statement, per The New York Post.

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This has become a more common occurrence in recent years because of the quick turnaround between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.

Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty will skip the Preakness, dashing any hopes of a Triple Crown win. (Photo by Horsephotos/Getty Images)

Obviously, it's good to see trainers making decisions with the animal's best interests and health in mind, but…

Aren't thoroughbred horse's kind of designed to run? Can't they handle two races over the course of two weeks.

I don't know, we're straying into the load management zone; ask the NBA how much fans appreciate that.

This situation does create a big problem for the sport, because the biggest story of any Preakness is always the Kentucky Derby winner's bid to capture the second jewel of the Triple Crown. That alone can draw in a lot of eyeballs, in those belonging to people who don't know anything about the sport.

However, without that built-in storyline, what is going to get casual viewers to stop what they're doing and turn into a two-minute horse race?

I don't know.

The Preakness is held on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May, which would make moving it to allow for a greater turnaround time a tough sell.

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.