Churchill Downs Inc., Kentucky Derby owner, buys Preakness Stakes rights for $85 million

Churchill Downs Incorporated, the rights holder of the Kentucky Derby and other horse racing events, has agreed to purchase the intellectual property rights to the Preakness Stakes for a fee of $85 million. The deal was announced through their public relations team in a statement.

The second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes is one of the biggest brands in the sport. It is positioned just two weeks after the Kentucky Derby on the calendar each year, part of what makes winning both — and the subsequent Belmont Stakes title — so difficult.

The purchase will not impact the location of the race, which takes place each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. In fact, the new owners have committed to make efforts which will help improve the experience of the race and its track.

“This acquisition adds one of the most iconic brands in American sports to our portfolio and is consistent
with our strategy of investing in premier Thoroughbred racing assets with long-term growth potential,” said Bill Carstanjen, Chief Executive Officer of CDI. “In keeping ownership of the Preakness intellectual
property in the racing industry, CDI will support efforts to fully realize the potential of a redeveloped
Pimlico and Preakness Stakes within the Triple Crown and the broader sports and entertainment landscape.”

The deal also includes the rights to the Black-Eyed Susan, the Preakness weekend’s equivalent to the Kentucky Oaks. Both races serve as the headliner race on the day prior to the Tiple Crown event, with the top three-year old fillies competing for the grand prize.

More on Triple Crown racing

Throughout the history of horse racing, the difficulty of the Triple Crown has been widely debated. Some have called for the races to be spaced out further to provide more recovery time while others argue that the need to bounce back quickly is part of the grand achievement.

The cycle of Triple Crown horses has also come in waves, with multiple horses able to pull it off in a short stretch before a long absence of contenders. It is in these lulls that the debate rages most.

Over recent years, horses which have won the Kentucky Derby, along with other Triple Crown caliber horses which missed out on the first leg, have chosen to skip the Preakness in order to create an advantage going into the Belmont Stakes. While the acquisition does not guarantee an end to that trend, it has created optimism that decisions will be made in the best interest of both entities.