Triple Crown Tradition Unchanged for 2015

There was talk of a Triple Crown schedule change when California Chrome, pictured winning the 2014 Preakness Stakes, fell short of a Triple Crown in the Belmont. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
The New York Racing Association released its 2015 schedule last week, which is hardly the kind of news that sets Twitter aflutter.
Looking it over, in the new year there will be a week off in March, a four-week period from February to March with a four-day race week, and a Belmont Park fall meet that extends into November. Yet for the most part it will be the status quo in 2015.
Which is indeed news, especially when the June dates are reviewed.
Foremost among the returning pieces on the NYRA calendar is the Belmont Stakes, which will be contested on June 6, in its customary spot five weeks after the Kentucky Derby.
As a refresher, during the last Triple Crown season there was an outcry to extend the spacing between the three races, which was sparked by comments to that effect by Tom Chuckas, who was Pimlico’s president and chief operating officer.
Combining Chuckas’ resignation from his position with the Maryland Jockey Club last month with the release of NYRA’s new schedule, the Triple Crown’s structure unofficially became officially safe for 2015 - and hopefully for years to come.
As much as any fan of the sport would love to see an end to a Triple Crown drought that will stretch into a 37th year next month, such a drastic change seems needless for a series that generated robust attendance, wagering and television ratings this year.
As much as Chuckas’ comments found a measure of support in the media and cyberspace, there was no indication that the party most dramatically impacted in the proposed switch, NYRA, had any interest in doing it.
After the Belmont Stakes, when NYRA’s vice president of racing operations  Martin Panza was asked about Chuckas’ proposal, the miffed look on his face while answering the question said as much as his response.
“I have nothing to say at this point. When we talk with our partners about it, we will not be doing through the media,” he said.
AFFIRMED WAS THE LAST TRIPLE CROWN WINNER, IN 1978

After revamping its 2014 stakes scheduling and making the July 4th holiday weekend the focus of a new major stakes package, NYRA clearly had no interest in overhauling it once again to please Pimlico or those seeking to lessen the accomplishment of a Triple Crown sweep.
Nor should it.
As frustrating and disappointing as it may be to watch a near-miss like the one California Chrome gave us this spring, it’s the difficulty involved in it that makes the Triple Crown so special and why so many mainstream sports fans are intrigued by it. People watch the three races hoping to see history.
By making the Triple Crown easier, racing risks turning its best marketing tool into something passé. Turn a Triple Crown sweep into a twice-a-decade occurrence, and the people who come out to Churchill Downs, Pimlico and Belmont Park hoping to see history will find other ways to spend their Saturday afternoons in May and June.
Everyone would love to see a Triple Crown sweep but clearly the lack of one has not hurt the sport. With crowds of 164,906 (Kentucky Derby), 123,469 (Preakness) and 102,199  (Belmont Stakes) turned out for this year’s races, it’s ridiculous to believe the series is growing stale because of a Triple Crown drought that dates back to 1978 and foolish to believe a change in the structure of the series would generate even greater results.
Who knows if there will be a Triple Crown winner next year. But at some point it will happen. When? That’s not important. What matters is the belief that it can happen. We’re a country of believers and that belief that something special is in store has and will continue to focus people’s attention on the Triple Crown.
Count on it.
Even if the races only span five weeks.