The Preakness Stakes will have No Tempo.
No Golden Tempo that is.
The Kentucky Derby winner will not participate in this year’s Preakness, eliminating any chance of a possible Triple Crown winner in 2026.
Cherie DeVaux Racing made the announcement less than a week after Golden Tempo made a come-from-behind run at the Kentucky Derby to win the first leg of the Triple Crown.
“After much thoughtful discussion as a team, we have decided that Golden Tempo will bypass the Preakness Stakes,” Cherie DeVaux Racing said in a statement. “We are incredibly appreciative of the excitement and support surrounding the possibility of a Triple Crown run. The enthusiasm from racing fans, our owners, and our entire team has meant more to us than we can properly express.
“Golden gave us the race of a lifetime in the Kentucky Derby, and we believe the best decision for him moving forward is to give him a little more time following such a tremendous effort. His health, happiness, and long-term future will always remain our top priority.”
The plan is for Golden Tempo to run in this year’s Belmont Stakes, taking place at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York while Belmont Park undergoes renovations.
The decision means it will now be eight consecutive years without a Triple Crown winner after Justify completed the feat in 2018, winning the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes that year.
Golden Tempo’s win was a historic one as it marked the first time in the Derby’s 152-year history that a female-trained horse won the race.
Jockey Jose Ortiz also recorded his first Kentucky Derby victory on Saturday and the horse defied some rather spectacular odds in order to win.
This year’s Preakness is taking place on May 16 and will be held at Laurel Park in Maryland while Pimlico Race Course is being renovated.
