Triple Crown late nominations due June 3

Churchill Downs press release:

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (Wednesday, May 27, 2020) – The deadline for late nominations to the rescheduled 2020 Triple Crown will be Wednesday, June 3. Owners and trainers can make 3-year-old Thoroughbreds eligible for the three-race series with a payment of $3,000.

Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the traditional order and dates for the Triple Crown were revised: the 152ndrunning of the Belmont Stakes (Grade I) at 1 1/8 miles at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.; the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (GI) at 1 ¼ miles on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.; and the 145th running of the Preakness Stakes (GI) at 1 3/16 miles on Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Md.

A total of 347 horses were made eligible to the Triple Crown during the early phase with a $600 payment that was due Jan. 25. The late nomination of $6,000 was originally due March 30 but the closing was postponed until all Triple Crown races were rescheduled.

Late nominations – now $3,000 at half the original cost – will be accepted online at www.TheTripleCrown.com or by calling Churchill Downs racing operations manager Kelly Danner at (502) 638-3825. Payment must be made at the time of nomination.

Jennie Rees is a communications and advocacy specialist in the horse industry who spent 32 years covering horse racing for The (Louisville) Courier-Journal before taking a corporate buyout. In addition to handling communications for the Kentucky HBPA, Rees serves as a consultant to the National HBPA. Other projects include the Preakness Stakes, Indiana Grand’s Indiana Derby Week and work for various HBPA affiliates and horsemen’s associations.