Will Golden Tempo race in Preakness? Triple Crown dates after Kentucky Derby win

USA Today·May 2

Will Golden Tempo race in Preakness? Triple Crown dates after Kentucky Derby win

Updated May 2, 2026, 7:27 p.m. ETGolden Tempo crossed the finish line Saturday at Churchill Downs, winning the 152nd Kentucky Derby and immediately turning attention to a question that has gone unanswered for eight years: Can he win the Triple Crown? That starts in two weeks with The Preakness Stakes. The last horse to win the Triple Crown – the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes – was Justify in 2018. Since then, seven consecutive Kentucky Derby winners have failed to complete the sweep. Four of those horses never even tried, skipping the Preakness Stakes entirely. Last year’s winner, Sovereignty, trained by Bill Mott, bypassed the Preakness just days after winning the Derby, citing the horse’s long-term interests. Since 2019, four Kentucky Derby winners have not raced in the Preakness, a shift driven by modern training strategies that prioritize spacing races further apart. Sovereignty went on to win the Belmont Stakes and earned Horse of the Year honors, validating Mott’s decision, but also deepening the debate about whether the Triple Crown format needs to change. The question now is whether Golden Tempo's connections will take the shot. When is the Preakness? Triple Crown race scheduleIf they do, the