Preakness Stakes Shifts to Sunday as Maryland Unveils New 2027 Schedule
The Preakness Stakes will enter a new chapter in 2027, with Maryland racing officials moving the second jewel of the Triple Crown back one week and staging the historic race on a Sunday for the first time.
The 152nd running of the Preakness will be held at Pimlico Race Course on Sunday, May 23, 2027. That places the race eight days later than its customary spot on the third Saturday in May and creates an additional week between the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the Maryland Jockey Club, and NBC Sports announced the schedule change Wednesday during a press conference in Annapolis.
The revised calendar will also reshape the traditional Preakness weekend. The Black-Eyed Susan Stakes program, long held on the Friday before the Preakness, will move to Saturday, May 22. The Preakness card will follow on Sunday and bring the expanded racing festival to a close.
For decades, the two-week turnaround from the Kentucky Derby to the Preakness has been one of the defining tests of the Triple Crown. It has also become increasingly difficult to navigate in an era when leading trainers generally allow more time between major races.
Maryland Jockey Club President and General Manager Bill Knauf said the additional week is designed to make the Preakness more accessible to horses whose connections employ modern training schedules.
Knauf acknowledged the history attached to the traditional Triple Crown format but said racing, like other professional sports, must be willing to examine changes that could strengthen its premier events. The Maryland Jockey Club’s objective is to encourage Kentucky Derby starters to continue to Baltimore while building the Preakness into a broader championship weekend.
The shift to the fourth weekend in May will place the event during Memorial Day weekend in most years, potentially creating a longer and more valuable tourism window for Baltimore businesses. The 2027 running itself will take place one week before Memorial Day, which falls on May 31 that year.
The announcement also included a major television component. The Maryland Jockey Club has extended its media-rights agreement with NBC Sports, keeping the Preakness on NBC and Peacock through 2032.
The expanded agreement includes multiplatform coverage of the Preakness, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes, and additional programming throughout the weekend. Coverage will be presented across NBC, Peacock, and NBCSN.
NBC Sports began its partnership with the Maryland Jockey Club in 2001. By the end of the newly extended agreement, NBC will have become the longest-serving broadcaster in the history of the Preakness.
Gov. Moore said the renewed partnership represents another step toward securing the long-term future of the Preakness in Maryland. He described the race as an important part of the state’s history, culture, and economy, while emphasizing the need to make coverage available to both dedicated racing followers and casual sports fans.
Jon Miller, NBC Sports’ president of acquisitions and partnerships, said the network looks forward to showcasing Maryland’s leading races across both Saturday and Sunday. He added that the extension reflects the strength of NBC’s relationship with the Maryland Jockey Club and the network’s continuing commitment to horse racing.
First run in 1873, the Preakness remains one of the nation’s most recognizable sporting events and a central element of Maryland’s cultural identity. Its place between the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes has long made it the pivotal second stage of a Triple Crown campaign.
Trainer Graham Motion, who brought 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom to the Preakness, said the arrival of a Derby winner in Baltimore creates an atmosphere unlike anything else in the sport. Motion recalled the energy surrounding Animal Kingdom’s Triple Crown attempt and the sense that the entire crowd was united behind the horse.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert also addressed the importance of protecting the Triple Crown in a post on X. Baffert said winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Belmont Stakes remains racing’s greatest achievement and described the Preakness as integral to the sport’s past, present, and future.
The calendar change is certain to generate debate among traditionalists. The demanding spacing of the Triple Crown races has always been considered part of what makes the series so difficult to win.
Yet the move also reflects the realities of present-day Thoroughbred training. By offering an additional week after the Kentucky Derby, Maryland officials are betting that more leading 3-year-olds will make the trip to Pimlico and that a deeper, stronger Preakness field will ultimately benefit the entire Triple Crown.
Beginning in 2027, the road through the spring classics will follow a different timetable. The destination, however, remains the same: Pimlico Race Course, where another generation of 3-year-olds will compete for one of American racing’s most coveted prizes.
