Golden Tempo skips Preakness; trainer historic

Horse racing got the answer everyone was waiting on, and it was the answer Triple Crown traditionalists hate. Golden Tempo, this year’s Kentucky Derby winner, is not coming back in two weeks for the Preakness. Cherie DeVaux and the colt’s owners are giving him more time and aiming at the Belmont Stakes on June 6 at Saratoga instead. That means the Triple Crown is over before the second leg even starts. ### Why is this such a big deal? The Derby-Preakness double is the whole hinge of Triple Crown season. Win on the first Saturday in May, come right back two weeks later, and suddenly every race becomes a national event. But that only works if the Derby winner actually shows up. When Golden Tempo skips, the Preakness loses the reigning star, and the sport loses its cleanest storyline. (drf.com) ### What reason did DeVaux give? Basically, recovery. DeVaux said Golden Tempo “ran the race of his life” and that the team believes it is in his best interest to get more time to come out of the Derby. She also said the colt exited the race in good order, so this was not framed as a physical setback. It was a choice about spacing, not an emergency. (drf.com) ### Why does the timing matter so much? The old Triple Crown calendar asks a 3-year-old thoroughbred to run 1 1/4 miles in the Derby, then come back two weeks later for the Preakness, then three weeks after that for the Belmont. That used to be more normal. Now top horses run less often, and trainers tend to prize recovery windows much more aggressively. So the two-week turnaround has started to look less like tradition and more like a stress test. (drf.com) ### Wasn’t DeVaux already making history? Yes — and that part stands no matter what happens next. Golden Tempo’s Derby win made Cherie DeVaux the first woman to train a Kentucky Derby winner. The colt came from last to beat Renegade by a neck at 23-1 odds, with Jose Ortiz aboard, in 2:02.27. So even with the Preakness skip, this barn already has one of the defining moments of the season. (bloodhorse.com) ### Is this a one-off, or a pattern? It looks like a pattern. BloodHorse notes that Golden Tempo is the third healthy Derby winner since 2022 to skip the Preakness. That is the part that really stings for the race and for the Triple Crown brand. If the best horse in the crop keeps opting out of the second leg, the series starts to feel less like a three-race gauntlet and more like three separate targets. (kentuckyderby.com) ### Why point to Belmont instead? Because the calendar is friendlier. The Belmont is set for June 6 at Saratoga, which gives Golden Tempo about five weeks between starts instead of two. There is also a hometown feel here — DeVaux is from Saratoga Springs, and this is the third straight year Saratoga is hosting the Belmont. More rest, same prestige, less risk. That math is pretty easy to see. (bloodhorse.com) ### What does this do to the Preakness field? It opens the door for new faces and removes the horse everyone would have built the race around. Early Preakness coverage has already shifted toward who might jump in, including Derby third-place finisher Ocelli and possible new shooters. But the catch is obvious — a Preakness without the Derby winner always feels a little less central, even if the betting race itself becomes more open. (drf.com) ### Bottom line? Golden Tempo’s connections made the modern choice, not the romantic one. And that’s the real story here. DeVaux already made history at Churchill Downs. Now she’s forcing the sport to confront a harder question — whether the Triple Crown calendar still fits the way elite horses are actually trained in 2026. (bloodhorse.com) (drf.com)