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Sovereignty's Owner Announces Plan For The Preakness Stakes

Originally posted on The Spun | By Andrew Gould | Last updated May 4, 2025 10:40 AM ET

Sovereignty won the 151st Kentucky Derby, but the horse isn't guaranteed to continue a Triple Crown pursuit.

On Saturday, Sovereignty upended the favored Journalism down the stretch at Churchill Downs to give Godolphin its first Kentucky Derby triumph in 14 tries. Trainer Bill Mott led the Into Mischief sire to his second career Derby victory on a sloppy track.

As the team celebrated Sovereignty's win, attention quickly turned to the Preakness Stakes. The next leg takes place in two weeks at Pimlico.

In a post-race interview on the NBC broadcast, Godolphin USA director of bloodstock Michael Banahan told Rebecca Lowe that they haven't made a Preakness decision yet.

"We'll see how he comes out of the race," Banahan said. "We'll see what the Hall of Fame trainer wants to do with him. But if he's coming out, it'd be the logical place to go. We'd love to try and go back and win the Preakness. It's been a long time since Bernandini won it, so it'd be nice to get back there to try to do it again."

Per Dusty Baker of WAVE 3 News, Banahan and Mott received a call officially inviting Sovereignty to the Preakness on Sunday morning. Banahan said they'd make a decision later in the week.

According to WDRB News' Rick Bozich, Mott said Sovereignty suffered a "small abrasion" on the right front leg. While it's not considered significant, the issue could place further uncertainty on Sovereignty's Preakness status.

American Pharoah (2015) and Justified (2018) are the only horses to win the Triple Crown in the last 35 years. However, Mott is considering Sovereignty's racing run beyond the Preakness.

"I think over the years people realize spacing these horses out a little bit gives you the opportunity to make them last a little longer, and I think we're looking at a career," Mott said on Sunday, per the Daily Racing Form's David Grening. "We want the career to last more than five weeks."

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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