Horse racing’s biggest races will look considerably different in 2027 with the launch of a new season-long championship and a historic scheduling change for the Preakness Stakes.
Churchill Downs Incorporated and the New York Racing Association have announced the new Thoroughbred Championship Series, a six-race competition designed to keep the nation’s leading 3-year-old Thoroughbreds competing—and racing fans engaged—from May through September, and the Preakness Stakes will race one week later and on Sunday instead of the traditional Saturday slot.
The inaugural Championship Series is expected to include:
- Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 1
- Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park on June 5
- Matt Winn Stakes at Churchill Downs in July
- Jim Dandy Stakes at Saratoga in late July or early August
- Travers Stakes at Saratoga in late August
- A new championship race at Churchill Downs in September
Exact dates for four of the races have not yet been announced.
Contenders will accumulate points throughout the series, creating a season-long standings race similar to championship formats used in other major sports. In addition to the purses offered by the individual races, a new $5 million prize pool will be distributed based on the final standings. Churchill Downs races will be televised by NBC, while the NYRA events will air on FOX.
One notable omission is the Preakness Stakes. The traditional second jewel of the Triple Crown is not currently part of the new championship series, but it is undergoing a major change of its own. Beginning in 2027, the Preakness Stakes will move one week later, placing it three weeks after the Kentucky Derby instead of the traditional two-week turnaround. The race will also move from Saturday to Sunday for the first time since it began in 1873.
The 152nd Preakness will be held Sunday, May 23, at Pimlico Race Course, with the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes moving from Friday to Saturday, May 22. Officials hope the additional recovery week will encourage more Kentucky Derby runners to continue to Baltimore. The new schedule will give horses more time between the Derby and Preakness, but it will place the 2027 Preakness only 13 days before the Belmont Stakes on June 5.
Together, the changes create a new landscape for Thoroughbred racing: the historic Triple Crown remains intact, while the new championship series establishes an additional five-month competition culminating at Churchill Downs.
