The Preakness could be getting a new spot on the calendar following years of speculation about the second leg of horse racing's Triple Crown moving further away from the Kentucky Derby.
A staple on the third Saturday in May nearly every year since 1950, the date for the 152nd rendition of the Preakness is set to be unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Wes Moore and the Maryland Jockey Club at a news conference in the state capital of Annapolis. The only time over the past three-quarters of a century it did not take place on its usual date was in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Calls to change the spacing of the Triple Crown races loudened within the sport in recent years, as owners and trainers increasingly opted to skip the Preakness because the two-week turnaround is much shorter than what is now normal for modern 3-year-old thoroughbreds. Golden Tempo became the second Derby winner in a row and third in five years not to take part, and only three horses ran in both.
But the Belmont Stakes staying on the first Saturday in June next year could extend the troubles of the condensed schedule for at least one more Triple Crown season. The return of the race to Belmont Park is set for June 5, as part of a new 3-year-old championship series announced Monday that includes the Derby, the Belmont and races into the summer and possibly early fall.
For at least ’27, that series does not include the Preakness, which is set to take place back at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore following a one-time stop at Laurel Park. Full reconstruction of the new Pimlico is expected to be completed by the spring of 2028.
AP horse racing: https://apnews.com/hub/horse-racing
FILE - Horses compete during the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, May 16, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
FILE - Taj Mahal and other horses compete during the 151st running of the Preakness Stakes horse race, May 16, 2026, at Laurel Park in Laurel, Md. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, File)
Here's a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and the wider Middle East on Wednesday. Full coverage can be found here.
For the first time in weeks, Israel's military told residents of an area in Lebanon to evacuate. The military said it was in response to what it described as “a blatant violation of the ceasefire” by the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group.
In a post on X, military spokesperson Lt. Col. Ella Waweya told residents of Mansouri to immediately move at least 1,000 meters (yards) north of the village to open areas. The military later said it was conducting “precise strikes” in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s health ministry said one person was killed and 12 wounded in an Israeli strike in the town of Tebnine.
The escalation came as Lebanese and Israeli negotiators met in Rome for a second day to discuss implementation of a deal under which Israeli forces are supposed to withdraw from areas they occupy in southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah's disarmament.
A shaky ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has largely held since June 20. The fighting erupted two days after the Iran war began when Hezbollah fired at Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz could come as early as Wednesday.
Iran and Oman, the country on the other side of the strait, are inching toward an agreement on the critical waterway that could ease pressure on the global economy and potentially help end the war.
The U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, citing goals including toppling Tehran’s government and ending its nuclear program. But the conflict has devolved into a fight over the strait as Iran asserts control and its attacks on shipping have brought traffic to a near-halt. The U.S. recently reimposed a blockade on Iranian ports.
Closure of the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas passed before the war, has driven up the price of fuel and related goods far beyond the region, roiling the global economy.
Trump is under mounting pressure to end the unpopular war ahead of midterm congressional elections later this year.
The U.S. lifted sanctions on three Iran-linked companies. A Treasury official said it came after an appeal and was not indicative of any shift in U.S. policy toward the Islamic Republic. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the sanctions.
One company is Fly Baghdad Airlines, sanctioned in January 2024 for allegedly providing assistance to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon. Sanctions also were lifted on Iraq Express and another Fly Baghdad-linked firm.
— Fatima Hussein in Washington
A Lebanese man reads a copy of the Quran inside a damaged house in the village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A Lebanese man checks a destroyed house in the village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
Israeli military vehicles, left, are seen stationed among homes in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah, occupied by Israeli forces, is seen from the southern village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A Lebanese man removes debris from his destroyed house in the village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, south Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
A Lebanese man points to Hebrew writing left by Israeli soldiers inside his destroyed home in the village of Zawtar al-Gharbieh, southern Lebanon, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026.(AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
