The Week in ReviewFor years, it was clear to most that something needed to be done to revitalize the Triple Crown. With four of the last six GI Kentucky Derby winners, including the last two, passing on the GI Preakness Stakes, the Triple Crown was starting to lose its importance. That was a major problem for the sport. The Triple Crown was the game's most historic series and resonated with the general public like nothing else. It was, quite simply, the best thing that racing had.Last week, there were finally changes made to the picture when it came to the upper-echelon 3-year-old males. First came the announcement that Churchill Downs and NYRA had put together the Thoroughbred Championship Series, a six-race series that will begin next year with the Kentucky Derby and end with a yet-to-be-named championship race at Churchill Downs in September. In some respects, it could be a good thing for the sport. The series will include point standings, a bonus and should keep interest alive in racing's marquee division for some five months. But there was a glaring omission to the series in that it did not include the Preakness, leaving the middle jewel of the Triple Crown to fend for itself.Two days later, Maryland Governor Wes Moore announced that the Preakness would be moved eight days, to a Sunday, and run 22 days after the Derby.“We are going to move it back to be able to ensure that the winner of the Kentucky Derby will then be prepared to compete in the second leg of the Triple Crown because the Triple Crown will continue and it will continue to be Preakness,” Moore said.I'm not sure an extra eight days is enough to attract Derby horses to the Preakness. We're in an era where most trainers want at least four weeks between races, if not five. But what if, because of the extra time, the Derby winner and a slew of Derby horses do decide to run back in the Preakness? They would then be asked to run back in just 13 days in a mile-and-a-half race in the GI Belmont Stakes. It's very hard to see anyone doing that. This is not 1982 when the great Woody Stephens ran Conquistador Cielo back in the Belmont just five days after he won the GI Metropolitan Handicap.The bottom line is that, with the way the Triple Crown is now structured, it is very hard to see any horses running in all three legs of the series. This terribly dysfunctional sport has taken a bad situation with the Triple Crown and just made it worse. Unless changes are made, we may never see a Triple Crown winner again.Maybe it's too late to alter the 2027 schedule, but something has to give. The top executives from Churchill Downs Inc, the Maryland Jockey Club, NYRA, Fox and NBC, need to lock themselves in a room and not leave until they have come up with a viable solution.What makes the most sense is to move the Belmont back another two weeks so that it is run four weeks after the Preakness. That would create a series where there are somewhat sensible gaps between the three races, three weeks from the Derby to the Preakness and four weeks from the Preakness to the Belmont. If NYRA won't move the race by two weeks, how about one? Why on earth not?The stumbling block to this has always been NYRA. Why is the organization being so stubborn and so reluctant to move the Belmont Stakes? It is true that even without a Triple Crown on the line, Belmont day is supercharged, maybe the single best day of racing outside of Breeders' Cup Saturday. And moving the Belmont could cause problems for the marquee 3-year-old races at Saratoga, the GII Jim Dandy Stakes and the GI Travers Stakes and interfere with the GIII Matt Winn Stakes, which is part of the Thoroughbred Championship Series.But aren't these small prices to pay for saving the Triple Crown? This should be non-negotiable. Sovereignty Is BackIt was good to see Sovereignty (Into Mischief) rebound in a big way and thrash his rivals in the GI Whitney Stakes. He was racing's biggest star in 2025, but it was fair to ask if he had lost something off his fastball after he lost his first two starts of the year. Now, if things break his way in the GI Jockey Club Gold Cup, where he will face Forever Young (Jpn) (Real Steel ({Jpn}), and the GI Breeders' Cup Classic, he should win back-to-back Horse of the Year titles. That would be a good thing for the sport.There was one notable difference in his performance Saturday at Saratoga. He dropped back to sixth early, seven lengths behind the lead of Nitrogen (Medaglia d'Oro). That was notably different from his performances in the GII Oaklawn Handicap, where he set the early pace, and the GI Stephen Foster, where he was just 2 1/2 lengths off the pace in the first call. Perhaps this is how he wants to be ridden, not rushed, able to settle into stride before unleashing his big kick.As for his stablemate, Baeza (McKinzie), he must be giving trainer Bill Mott fits. He is a talented horse, but just can't get out of the gate. Once again, he hesitated at the start before closing for a well-beaten fourth. Mott took the step of placing padding on either side of Baeza as well as in the back in the starting gate. The pads are known as quarter pads. They obviously didn't help.The other story to come out of the Whitney was the strong second-place showing by the filly, Nitrogen. Mark Casse took a big chance running her not only against males but against may have been the deepest group of older horses assembled this year. That she finished second, and ahead of stars like Magnitude (Not This Time), White Abarrio (Race Day) and Baeza speaks to her quality. In defeat, she improved her resume and took a step toward a second straight Eclipse Award. Kudos to Todd PletcherCongratulations to Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, who won his 6,000th race when Versailles Road (Quality Road) won the 14th race at Saratoga Saturday. From the time he debuted as a trainer, after a stint as Wayne Lukas's top assistant, in 1996, he has proven to be one of the best trainers the sport has ever seen. Few top trainers are as versatile. He wins with every type of horse, grass, dirt, 2-year-olds, 3-year-olds, older horses.Plus, he is a class act who quietly goes about his business.Pletcher will never catch Steve Asmussen, who has 11,297 victories. He may not catch Dale Baird (9,445 career wins) either. But he is just 59 and no doubt will enjoy several more years at the top of the sport and third-place on the all-time list is well within his reach.The post The Triple Crown is a Mess: Can We Please Fix It appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.