Running Triple Crown races too close together hurts Preakness in particular

The 150th Run for the Roses on May 4 was a thrilling affair by any standard of horse racing. An 18-to-1 underdog named Mystik Dan claimed victory by a nose, besting the more highly regarded Sierra Leone and Forever Young. It was so close that Mystik Dan’s jockey wasn’t even sure he had won the Kentucky Derby and had to wait for official results like the millions watching at home and the nearly 157,000 people who packed Churchill Downs for the historic event.