The connections of Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty made a decision that surprised many in the racing world—they chose not to run in the Preakness Stakes, despite the horse’s rising fame and the temptation of a Triple Crown bid. Some might say they walked away from prestige. I say they walked toward wisdom. Here’s a link to the APnews report

And in that choice, I couldn’t help but think of Lizzie Stratton, the heroine of my novel What’s There to Love?. Lizzie knows horses from the inside out. She knows what it means to push one too early—and she’s seen the price of winning at all costs.

A Triple Crown Sketch
The Triple Crown  involves three races for three year old horses. The first The Kentucky Derby takes place on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs in Kentucky. The second,The Preakness, is held is Maryland two weeks later. The third and final race is the Belmont Stakes, held in New York, three weeks after the Preakness.

The average race horse usually has 4-5 weeks between races. Triple Crown contenders race three times in the same number of weeks.

Even though a Thoroughbred’s registration papers will state his actual day of birth, January 1st is officially considered the birthday for all Thoroughbred racehorses in the Northern Hemisphere, regardless of their actual foaling date. This tradition is maintained by racing authorities (including The Jockey Club in the U.S.) to standardize age classifications for racing and breeding. It allows race organizers to group horses by “age” even if their true birth dates differ by months.

Although registered as two-year-olds on January 1st, many Thoroughbreds begin their ridden careers when they are still technically only 18 months old. By the time they line up for the Kentucky Derby, they may be just shy of their true third birthday—still maturing, still learning, and already under immense pressure.

the average Kentucky Derby contender has typically run between 4 and 6 races before the Derby. However, there’s variation depending on the horse’s development, training philosophy, and the strategy of the trainer/owner.

Most horses’ skeletons—especially their spines—are still under construction until a horse is five or six years old. It’s like asking a middle schooler to do the work of a college athlete.

Added to the physical stress of the races and training are the emotional stress of repeatedly moving to a new track, travel fatigue, and being conditioned to the screaming fans and blaring loud speakers. Yet the horses are expected to stay calm and focused—despite being young prey animals in very unnatural situations.

Knowing When Not to Run
In a sport where timing is everything, it’s easy to forget that rest is just as vital as readiness. Horses are pushed to perform before they’re fully grown. Recovery time is scarce. And the pressure—for owners, trainers, and horses—is immense.

But Sovereignty’s team took a different path. They recognized their colt’s need for rest and acted on it—even when the headlines could have been theirs. That kind of restraint shows not just compassion, but confidence: in their horse’s future, in their training philosophy, and in the belief that racing doesn’t have to be ruthless to be right. It’s a blessing to see the heart behind the people who look over this racehorse.

In What’s There to Love?, Lizzie makes similar choices. She refuses to send her “babies” to the track before they’re ready. Not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. And when her mentor tells her she won’t succeed bucking industry standards, she holds her ground, making her a hero to me. To Lizzie, a horse’s long-term soundness means more than short-term glory.

The Scars of the Sport
A different kind of headline also caught my attention this week— Sovereignty’s jockey was suspended for excessive whip use in the Kentucky Derby. It’s an ugly reminder that even in today’s regulated racing environment, horses still bear the cost of human ambition. Read the Paulick Report here

Lizzie knows that cost all too well. After Maisee’s race, she finds the welts—physical proof of what desperation looks like in the hands of a rider. She demands that Chad change jockeys or let her race Maisee, but he already knows and is correcting the problem. It makes me sad that while I wrote this in a fiction, the reality behind that moment is all too common.

Building Better Horses, Not Just Faster Ones
If you have read What’s There to Love you already know another layer of Lizzie’s mission—and something I admire her for—is her dedication to preserving older bloodlines and breeding for strength, not just speed. Many in the industry quietly acknowledge the growing concerns of modern Thoroughbred breeding: increased injury rates, shorter racing careers, and fragile legs that can’t sustain what the heart is willing to give.

Lizzie turns her focus to building a better future—matching durability with temperament, stamina with heart. She doesn’t chase fads; she cultivates resilience. That’s not a glamorous path in racing. It’s a slow one. But legacies aren’t built in a year—they’re built over generations.

It’s no coincidence that Sovereignty’s team gave their colt a pause. Horses aren’t machines. They don’t reset with a tune-up. They need time to grow, recover, and trust the hands that guide them.

Fiction That Reflects Reality
I love Thoroughbred horses and I like to watch races. One of my favorite trips its to Keeneland Racetrack where I can sit in the grass and watch the morning workouts. Through Lizzie’s story in What’s There to Love?, I wanted to spotlight some of the issues in the racing industry, today, and ask the hard questions about ethics, empathy, and ambition to give readers a character who wrestles with those same questions in her own gritty, determined way.

Lizzie isn’t just a fictitious heroine. Trainers, owners, grooms, and breeders all over the world are trying to do better—for their horses and for the future of racing. And every time someone makes a decision like the one Sovereignty’s team made, it gives me hope.

Final Thoughts
Sovereignty’s team isn’t the first to choose to sit out a Triple Crown Race, but real change often starts in small moments—like choosing not to run a horse, or raising a fictional character who insists on doing things differently. If you’ve read What’s There to Love, you already know Lizzie Stratton doesn’t pull her punches. She challenges the status quo both on these topics and that of women on the race track(an several others.)

To read about early work and other types of horses, check out my post on The Riding Instructor read Too Young to Hurt – The Truth About Juvenile Arthritis in Horses

So here’s to Sovereignty’s team. To every rider who follows the whip rules. And to every reader who believes, like Lizzie does, that love and legacy matter more than winning.

What’s There to Love? will take you on a wild ride. You can find it on Amazon.

Thanks for reading,

Barbara
BarbaraEllinFox.com

BarbaraEllinFox

Lifetime horsewoman, Barbara weaves her extensive background with horses and their people into exciting stories about happily ever after for men, women, and horses. Barbara also enjoys helping others with horses and writing.


  • I won’t debate whether the decision to keep Sovereignty in his stall, as opposed to letting Journalism race in the Preakness is the only good decision. I consider it a decision best made by the people most involved with the horse. They are the ones intimately familiar with the condition of their horse after one race and before another, as well as the demands of any breeding farm ownership partners.

    The schedule of the races making up the Triple Crown is another topic not to be settled here. I am in favor of the historical spacing of the races, you are not, but this debate will not be settled soon, I don’t think. At any rate, the horses that go on to compete in this year’s Belmont Stakes will have an easier time of it since the last leg will be contested at Saratoga at a distance of a mile and a quarter. The typical mile and a half distance is another issue that has been long debated. On that subject, the Preakness distance of a mile and three sixteenths is shorter than the Derby distance, not longer, but I know you were aware of that, your keyboard wasn’t.

    Research has led to most Vets, to conclude that early training and racing, done intelligently and with consideration for the individual horse, leads to a sounder racehorse over a longer racing career. Again, every horse is an individual and must be trained in response to that. This article might interest you, Training Young Horses: The Science behind the Benefits, https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7916178/, as well as numerous articles that have appeared in the Paulick Report.

    Sovereignty’s jockey should have been suspended for breaking the rules, and his refusal to acknowledge his culpability is regrettable. Fortunately, the whips riders are required to use currently have been redesigned to no longer be capable of raising a welt, they leave little physical impact on the horse and are now largely a reminder that it is now time to get serious about running. Flavian Pratt’s ride on Goal Oriented deserves a long suspension, for endangering not only his own horse, but Journalism as well. He certainly destroyed any chance Clever Again had, causing him to be eased.

    It looks like I’ve written a short story, so I think that’s enough commenting for me. Thank you for writing your much enjoyed books!

    • Hi Sheila, Thanks so much for your great comment. I agree. The decision to run or not certainly should be in the hands of the people who are involved with the horse. Kudos to them for considering the horse over what could possibly have been a dream come true. Not everyone would decide in favor of the animal. Since I’m a distant observer, I assume that’s what happened. The game horse ran so well in the mud. Thanks for the catch on the race lengths. And the article. I think we might agree that racing, as well as other horse sports, has lots of room for training done intelligently and with consideration for the individual horse. I couldn’t agree more about Flavian Pratt. One thing we know for certain is that horsemen are a passionate group of people. Thank you for reading my stories. Barbara

  • I agree with you and Sheila’s comments on racing and training, use of the whip and breeding for sounder, tougher horses. Today’s horses are so fragile. I would not breed to some of today’s favorites. Also agree about Pratt’s ride. So scary. I just knew someone was going down. I was disappointed that there would be no bid for the Triple Crown but I do so admire Sovereignty’s connections for doing what was best for him, not going for the big win like most would do, Mott saying doing what would keep around for more than 5 weeks. Hopefully we’ll be enjoying his races for a long time, in the summer’s big races, the BC Classic, and back next year. Too bad more don’t have that mindset not just out to win no matter what.

    • Hi Cathy, It’s really encouraging to see the attitude change over the past years about care in training and also after care and new careers. I agree that bumping looked really dangerous. And as far as breeding goes, I wish the gene pools didn’t narrow so much. Babies are fragile especially if they are kept working when they are sore or off. I wish we could see improvement in some of the other breeds/disciplines. All in all thought I loved Sovereignty’s gorgeous stride and his fierce determination through the mud. Thanks for your comment. 🤠

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