Kentucky Derby trainers support expanded Triple Crown schedule

Three trainers with Kentucky Derby 2026 contenders endorsed stretching out the Triple Crown schedule, with Brad Cox saying even a three-week gap between the Derby and Preakness Stakes would not give horses enough time to recover.

"I'm all for moving it," Cox said during an National Thoroughbred Racing Association media teleconference Thursday. He trains three of the top five horses on the Kentucky Derby leaderboard. "I think the point system has changed the whole dynamic of trying to get into the Derby and the pressure it puts on the horses. The health and the welfare of the horse comes first over tradition."

Chad Brown, trainer of Grade 2 Louisiana Derby winner Emerging Market, said his view had evolved in recent years, and he expects the Triple Crown calendar to change at some point in his career.

"I don't see how it can't change at some point," Brown said. But he cautioned that the industry should define its goals before reworking a fixture of the sport.

Mark Glatt, saddling his first Kentucky Derby starter in Santa Anita Derby (G1) winner So Happy, offered similar backing.

"I would lean more towards changing the schedule," Glatt said.

Cox said Commandment, Further Ado and Fulleffort were on track to breeze this weekend at Churchill Downs. Further Ado, the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) winner, turned in what Cox called "a flashy breeze." Fulleffort, the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) winner, will make his first dirt start in the Derby after prepping on Turfway Park's synthetic surface.

"Obviously a little bit of the unknown," Cox said of the surface switch, pointing to Final Gambit's fourth-place finish in last year's Kentucky Derby off a Jeff Ruby victory as a reference point.

A Kentucky Derby win May 2 would carry added meaning for Cox. His lone Derby victory, with Mandaloun in 2021, came via Medina Spirit's disqualification months after the race.

"There was no thrill of victory when you're awarded a race to a disqualification," Cox said. "It would certainly feel like the first Derby, for sure."

Brown said he planned to work Emerging Market on Friday during the 7:15 a.m. EDT Derby training window rather than risk forecast weekend weather in Louisville. The Klaravich Stables colt will enter the race off two career starts.

"He has so many positive attributes about him for a horse going into a race like this," Brown said.

Brown also reflected on a difficult spring in which Paladin suffered a non-displaced condylar fracture and had surgery, Canaletto was injured after a three-way photo in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) and Iron Honor dealt with trouble in the Wood Memorial (G2). Brown had three of the top seven horses by Derby points earlier in the prep season before injuries and racing luck left him with one.

"Then you blink and you have one," Brown said. "So it only takes one, though."

Glatt said So Happy was scheduled to breeze five furlongs Friday at Churchill Downs. Mike Smith will ride.

Assistant trainer and co-owner Gustavo Delgado Jr. said The Puma, beaten a nose in the Florida Derby (G1), completed his main serious work Saturday and might put in a light move at Churchill Downs on Monday or Tuesday rather than a formal breeze. The Delgado barn will stable in the same spot it used in 2023 when Mage won the Derby.

"It feels great just to be back to Churchill at this time of the year with a horse going to the Derby," Delgado said.