A clear difference was seen for the 2020 Triple Crown racing schedule. Normally the Triple Crown season begins with the Kentucky Derby. Two weeks later is the Preakness Stakes. And then three weeks after the Preakness is the Belmont Stakes. In 2020 the coronavirus blew all of that apart. Belmont Stakes gambling opened the Triple Crown. The second was the Kentucky Derby. October 3 will complete the Triple Crown season with the Preakness Stakes. With different winners in the first two races, there won’t be a 2020 Triple Crown betting winner. This should damage Preakness luster, handle, and TV ratings.
Kentucky Derby
First among Triple Crown races in schedule and prestige is the Kentucky Derby. Tradition is for the Kentucky Derby to be held the first Saturday in May. COVID-19 forced 2020 Derby Day to be postponed until Labor Day weekend. In the pre-coronavirus era, Derby Day generated one of the biggest annual online betting handles in sports. So too does Las Vegas draw massive traffic for the Kentucky Derby. Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky fills to the brim on Derby Day. It’s a bucket list event for countless sports enthusiasts.
Namely Authentic was the 8/1 upset winner of the 2020 Kentucky Derby. Such upsets are part of the norm in “The Run for the Roses.” Tiz the Law was a massive 3/5 betting favorite this year. Public money destroyed any potential value for this Belmont Stakes winner. This leads to one of the great phenomena of “The Fastest Two Minutes in Sports.” Follow the leader money from the masses often bets the chalk far beyond reason. Comparable to other races this is a Kentucky Derby force of nature. Tiz the Law was the Derby’s best horse but priced absurdly.
Commencing with the Kentucky Derby being the annual top American race are squares. Folks who know nothing about horse racing bet the Derby. Since they don’t know about horses they gravitate to the chalk. For this purpose, sharps flock to other capable horses that bring superior prices.
Accordingly, no race has more rituals and traditions than the Kentucky Derby. History beckons at Churchill Downs. In fact, no sport can top that First Saturday in May. The Derby is a mile and a quarter in length.
Preakness Stakes
To be exact this year the Preakness Stakes will be held on October 3, 2020. Usually, the Kentucky Derby winner becomes the instant Triple Crown Betting favorite at the Preakness. It follows that the Preakness Stakes is the shortest race of the Triple Crown. One and three sixteenth miles is the distance. Pre-COVID-19 Preakness Stakes tradition is being a wild party. Thus, the moniker of “The People’s Race.” Following the pressure of the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness is seen as a lot of fun. Hall of Fame Trainer D. Wayne Lukas always preferred the Preakness less formal atmosphere.
Belmont Stakes
Finally wrapping up the Triple Crown in a regular year in the Belmont Stakes. “The Test of the Champion” is the longest Triple Crown race. Its distance is a mile and a half. Of course, Secretariat is the iconic memory of the Belmont Stakes. He won the 1973 Belmont Stakes to clinch the Triple Crown. Nobody had ever seen such a dominant performance. Secretariat is considered the greatest Triple Crown winner ever.