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No Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty in Preakness highlights some philosophical horse …

Jockey Junior Alvarado celebrates after riding Sovereignty to victory in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson) (AP)- Just a few days after winning the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty was ruled out of running in the Preakness Stakes. It is the second […]

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No Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty in Preakness highlights some philosophical horse ...

Kentucky Derby Horse Racing

Jockey Junior Alvarado celebrates after riding Sovereignty to victory in the 151st running of the Kentucky Derby horse race at Churchill Downs Saturday, May 3, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

(AP)- Just a few days after winning the Kentucky Derby, Sovereignty was ruled out of running in the Preakness Stakes.

It is the second time in four years the owner and trainer of the Derby champion opted to skip the Preakness in favor of the Belmont Stakes in June. Rich Strike also bypassed the Preakness in 2022 after winning at Churchill Downs at odds of 80-1.

Country House did not run in 2019 because of illness after getting elevated to Derby winner when Maximum Security was disqualified for interference, the races were run out of order in 2020 and Medina Spirit ran and finished third in the 2021 Preakness after being DQed from his first-place finish in the Derby for a positive drug test.

That means this is the fifth time in seven years that the Preakness gates open at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore without even a chance at a Triple Crown. That was only the case once in the previous 33 years from to 1986-2018, and that happened because a horse was retired because of injury after taking the Run for the Roses.

Why is this happening?

Horse racing has changed from its heyday, when stars of the sport like War Admiral, Secretariat and Seattle Slew were used to running every couple of weeks. Breeding, money and other factors have changed that, and the top 3-year-old horses eligible for the Triple Crown race far less often, with bigger stretches in between.

“Most trainers hate running their horses back in two weeks,” NBC Sports analyst Randy Moss said. “They feel like it’s bad for the horses.”

Beginning in the early 21st century, many of the Derby horses who finish between second and 20th started getting more rest to wait five weeks for the Belmont. It was essentially automatic that the Derby winner would go, though not anymore.

“The trainers of Derby winners that do run back in the Preakness do it out of a sense of tradition — not because they like it,” Moss said.

Sovereignty’s Bill Mott made that clear the morning after his horse passed Journalism down the stretch in the mud at Churchill Downs with a record audience watching, casting doubt on the Preakness.

“We want to do what’s best for the horse,” Mott told reporters in Louisville, Kentucky, on Sunday. “Of course, you always think about a Triple Crown, and that’s not something we’re not going to think about.”

Does something need to change?

The debate has been raging for decades about horses not being able to handle the grind of three premier races over a span of five weeks. That was primarily because no one swept the Triple Crown between Affirmed in 1978 and American Pharoah in 2015, a 37-year drought that made industry stakeholders question tradition versus modern-day changes.

Justify doing it in 2018 to give the sport a pair of Triple Crown champions in four years quieted that talk. The recent uncertainty about Derby winners going to the Preakness reignited the chatter.

Prominent owner Mike Repole shared a proposal on social media Tuesday that would move the Belmont up to second in the rotation and shift the Preakness back to provide more spacing. Others have suggested moving the Preakness back to the first Saturday in June and the Belmont to the first Saturday in July.

What is the solution?

No one really knows. And does there need to be seismic change like the pitch clock in baseball?

Maybe, maybe not. After all, the previous two Derby winners — Mystik Dan last year and Mage in 2023 — wheeled back after two weeks to finish in the money at the Preakness.

They didn’t win, but their trainers wanted to give it a shot. And Bob Baffert-trained American Pharoah and Justify completing the Triple Crown showed it was possible.

“We’ll see Triple Crown winners because there will occasionally be horses like American Pharoah and like Justify who are good enough to blow up any of the current thoughts about spacing,” Moss said.

And trainers who aren’t worried about it. Baffert and 89-year-old fellow Hall of Famer D. Wayne Lukas have shown a willingness to go for it after winning the Derby — and even when they don’t. Lukas intends to run American Promise in the Preakness after a 16th place finish in Kentucky.

Others have chosen to play it more safe, which, if that becomes the trend, puts the future of the Preakness in peril.

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High School Sports

AMAZN sports showcase highlights Asian Americans

Text and Video produced by James Chung [embedded content] Pranav Iyer, Founder and CEO of AMAZN HQ, sat down with AsAm News to share his story from NFL dreams to creating the premiere media company showcasing Asian American sports talent. Born in Cupertino California, Pranav was first inspired by sports during an elementary book report. […]

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AMAZN sports showcase highlights Asian Americans

Text and Video produced by James Chung

Pranav Iyer, Founder and CEO of AMAZN HQ, sat down with AsAm News to share his story from NFL dreams to creating the premiere media company showcasing Asian American sports talent.

Born in Cupertino California, Pranav was first inspired by sports during an elementary book report. He told us “Looking through the library and ended up stumbling upon a book about Brett Favre. The recess after that book report was the first time I really actually played football.

I fell in love with football from that day and my dream in life is to play in the NFL.” 

He kept playing football through high school, landing an opportunity to play at Chapman University. While at Chapman, Pranav was the only Asian American on the team. Feeling a renewed sense of his Indian American identity he made it a point to help educate his peers and proudly represent his culture.

He pursued sports journalism while in school which first sparked his idea for creating AMAZN HQ.

“There were so many inspirational trailblazing athletes of Asian descent that came before me that I could have looked up to had I known their stories. Two, there were so many athletes my own age who were doing the same things as I was in different areas of this country that were Asian that if I had known who they were, I could have felt so much less isolation in my journey. I was like, ‘There’s something like this that needs to be started,’” Iyer stated.

He bought a camera and reached out to start filming games. Dealing with the ups and downs of the Pandemic, Pranav went to grad school and eventually got a job at ESPN. After gaining valuable experience at ESPN, he began working on AMAZN HQ full time. He and his partners created their own basketball showcase highlighting the best Asian hoopers across North American and has even partnered with the NFL, NBA, and Team USA.

While being able to cover the biggest Asian American athletes in the world, he still prides himself on telling the stories of the unsung heroes, the ones on the grassroots level making a difference. When speaking about the original content on these athletes he told us 

When other times no one else will give them that opportunity or they’re not telling the other side of their story, right? It’s not just about the numbers but it’s also about like, wow they’re doing something historic for their community.”

With his journey just getting started. Pranav had one goal for starting AMAZN HQ that still stands true “To show sports fans, non-sports fans what is possible for them in life.”

AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.

We are currently funded by our readers and such charitable foundations as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AARP, Report for America/GroundTruth Project & Koo and Patricia Yuen of the Yuen Foundation.’

Find additional content on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram , Tiktok, X, and YouTube. Please consider interning, joining our staff, or submitting a story, or making a tax-deductible donation.

You can make your tax-deductible donations here via credit card, debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Venmo. Stock donations and donations via DAFs are also welcomed. Contact us at info @ asamnews dot com for more info. 

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See prom photo highlights from Memorial Day weekend

Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025). © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or […]

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See prom photo highlights from Memorial Day weekend

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Section V playoffs heat up in all spring sports

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Section Five high schools are gearing up for a busy week of playoff action. Despite Memorial Day giving students a break, the sports schedule is packed with events that fans won’t want to miss. Baseball fans can look forward to the Triple-A best-of-three series between McQuaid and Fairport starting Tuesday at Monroe […]

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Section V playoffs heat up in all spring sports

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Section Five high schools are gearing up for a busy week of playoff action. Despite Memorial Day giving students a break, the sports schedule is packed with events that fans won’t want to miss.

Baseball fans can look forward to the Triple-A best-of-three series between McQuaid and Fairport starting Tuesday at Monroe Community College. Classes A, B, and D will play their quarterfinals on Tuesday, while Double-A and C will compete in the semifinals on Wednesday. Finals for Classes Double-A through D are set for Friday.

In softball, Classes Triple-A, Single-A, C1, and C2 have their quarterfinals on Tuesday. Semifinals for B1 and B2 are also scheduled for Tuesday. Thursday will see the semifinals for AAA, AA, A’s, the C’s, and the D’s, with finals planned for Saturday.

Girls lacrosse action kicks off with Class B and C quarterfinals on Tuesday. The Class A and D semifinals are set for Wednesday, with championships scheduled for next week. Class C and D’s championships are scheduled for Tuesday, June 3, while A and B are planned for Wednesday, June 4. On the boys’ side, all classes will host their quarterfinals on Tuesday, with semifinals beginning Friday. Title games are planned for next week. Class C and D’s championships are scheduled for Monday, June 2, while A and B are planned for Tuesday, June 3.

Flag football is set to crown a Class A champion Tuesday night at 6 pm in a matchup between Penfield and Fairport. Classes B and C will have their championship games on Wednesday. All flag football finals will take place at Monroe Community College.

News10NBC will provide highlights and scores throughout the week. Classes are determined by school enrollment, and more information on that can be found here.

AI assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News10NBC uses AI

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LOCAL SPORTS

LOCAL SPORTS: Clark set for Hall of Fame induction Published 3:47 pm Monday, May 26, 2025 By Special to The News Courier 1 of 1 Jill Clark remembers the game like it was yesterday.  She and her Ardmore teammates were tied in the waning seconds against DAR in the regional finals, and with a trip […]

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LOCAL SPORTS

LOCAL SPORTS: Clark set for Hall of Fame induction

Published 3:47 pm Monday, May 26, 2025

Jill Clark remembers the game like it was yesterday. 

She and her Ardmore teammates were tied in the waning seconds against DAR in the regional finals, and with a trip to sub-state on the line, Clark took the ball with 8 seconds left and drove the lane. 

By the time the final buzzer had sounded, Clark had scored a career-high 41 points to propel the Tigers to a 78-76 victory. 

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“That is the one high school memory that I will never forget,” said the 2025 Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame inductee. “Playing on the road at DAR was always tough and that game was no different. They were ranked third in the state when we played them. As a kid growing up, it is a basketball player’s dream to hit a shot at the buzzer to win a championship.  And then to see all of our parents and fans storm the court celebrating was something that will forever be stretched in my memory.”

Clark’s performance at DAR was one of her many highlights as a three-sport star at Ardmore, where she was a multi-year starter in basketball, softball and volleyball.

 She averaged over 20 points per game during her last three years playing basketball. During her senior season, Clark averaged 21.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game while leading the Tigers to a 23-7 record. She was named to the Class 3A All-State team and was a USA Today Honorable Mention All-American selection.  She was an All-Area and All-County selection in both softball and volleyball. 

She was also the center fielder for the softball team that won the 1993 state championship. 

“I had great teammates throughout high school,” said Clark. “We were close. A lot of us played fast-pitch softball in the summer together. The Ardmore community was great. They really supported us. I enjoyed playing for Coach (Mike) Jackson. He is a great person and pushed us girls to be the very best we could be.”

Jackson says that Clark was an intense competitor. 

“Jill simply didn’t like to lose. I coached her in basketball and softball. In basketball, she made it tough for our opponents to get the basketball past mid-court. She scored a lot of her points on layups because she had so many steals in the backcourt. I could play her anywhere on the softball field. She was that good of a softball player. She was a really good player in all the sports she participated in at Ardmore,” said Jackson. 

A highly recruited athlete, Clark had 26 college basketball scholarship offers but wanted to stay close to home and chose Martin Methodist College to continue her basketball career. 

“My goal was always to play Division 1 basketball. I attended Coach Pat Summitt’s basketball camps at the University of Tennessee during the summers in high school and made some all-camp teams. Attending those camps inspired me to work hard and hopefully one day earn an opportunity to play collegiately at the highest level. Martin Methodist was a junior college when I graduated from high school and only about 30 minutes from home. I felt like that pathway was best for me to achieve my goal. If I could improve my skills during my two years there, I might earn the scholarship I was hoping for. Everything was going well during my freshman year, but unfortunately, I broke my ankle during the preseason and took a redshirt year. I decided to then change my athletic focus back to softball. I transferred to Calhoun Community College and played softball. I am glad I did because it allowed me to reunite with some of my high school teammates who were on the softball team. It was a great experience and we won a lot of games in softball while I was at Calhoun,” said Clark. 

Clark says that being inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame is an unbelievable honor. 

“I was blessed to have so many wonderful teammates and coaches in high school. Plus, I had wonderful parents who encouraged and supported me throughout my career. Ardmore is a great community and I am proud to call Ardmore home. It is where my children go to school, so this honor is extra special on so many different levels. It has been over 30 years since I wore the Ardmore High School jersey, but I get to represent my alma mater one more time as the second Ardmore High School female athlete to be inducted into the Limestone County Sports Hall of Fame. I am so thankful and blessed to receive this honor,” said Clark.

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Jaylynn Schmuck, triple jump, Joel Amstutz, runner, receive awards

AI-assisted summaryTwo Greencastle-Antrim High School seniors received track scholarships for outstanding performance.Jaylynn Schmuck and Joel Amstutz were awarded the R. Edward Baumgardner Track Scholarships.Baumgardner, a G-AHS alumnus and former track star, presented the awards.Schmuck holds the school record in the triple jump, while Amstutz set a new stadium record in the 3,200-meter run.Two Greencastle-Antrim High […]

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Jaylynn Schmuck, triple jump, Joel Amstutz, runner, receive awards


AI-assisted summaryTwo Greencastle-Antrim High School seniors received track scholarships for outstanding performance.Jaylynn Schmuck and Joel Amstutz were awarded the R. Edward Baumgardner Track Scholarships.Baumgardner, a G-AHS alumnus and former track star, presented the awards.Schmuck holds the school record in the triple jump, while Amstutz set a new stadium record in the 3,200-meter run.Two Greencastle-Antrim High School seniors received R. Edward Baumgardner Track Scholarship awards during the annual track and field awards banquet on May 13.

This the fourth year the $1,000 awards have been given one senior boy and one senior girl for outstanding performance in track and field, according to Baumgardner, a 1957 graduate of Greencastle-Antrim High School and pole vault and long jump standout.

He presented the awards to Jaylynn Schmuck, who holds the school record in the triple jump at 36 feet, 11 inches, and Joel Amstutz, who set a new G-A stadium record in the 3,200-meter run with a time of 9:36.45.

The 2025 R. Edward Baumgardner Track Scholarship awards at Greencastle-Antrim High School were presented to Jaylynn Schmuck, who set a new school record in the triple jump, and Joel Amstutz, who set a new G-A stadium record in the 3,200-meter run. Ed Baumgardner, a 1957 G-AHS graduate, was a record setting pole vaulter and long jumper in high school and at Lafayette College.

How did Greencastle track star meet Olympians?

Baumgardner is a member of the first class of the GAHS Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in 2024. The hall of fame will be highlighted at the Old Home Week official opening on Saturday, Aug. 2, and he will be the main speaker.

He shared some of his sports highlights at the track and field banquet.In his senior year, he was a state pole vault champion, clearing 12 feet at the PIAA meet at Penn State. He’d qualified for states in the pole vault and long jump at the District 3 meet a week earlier.

After he won the district long jump at 20 feet 2 inches, his medal was presented by Jesse Owens, who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympics in Germany.

He also met Olympic champion pole vaulter Bob Richards twice, once when he visited Greencastle on his motivational speaking tour and again when he stopped by the pole vault pit at Lafayette College while Baumgardner was practicing. Richards also was the first athlete pictured on the front of a Wheaties box.

In his senior year at Lafayette, Baumgardner set school and Middle Atlantic Conference pole vault and long jump records.

“I continued my track career after college as a member of the Baltimore Olympic Club, increasing my personal best in the long jump to 23 feet, 2 inches,” Baumgardner told the G-A athletes. “I hung up my track shoes in 1966 and took up golf.”

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25 Sports High School Monday

PEORIA (25News Now) – Peoria Richwoods rallied to beat Galesburg 4-2 and advance in the IHSA 3A state baseball tournament. Pekin shuts out Moline, 10-0, in Class 4A softball. You can watch 25News – any newscast, anywhere – streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn […]

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25 Sports High School Monday

PEORIA (25News Now) – Peoria Richwoods rallied to beat Galesburg 4-2 and advance in the IHSA 3A state baseball tournament. Pekin shuts out Moline, 10-0, in Class 4A softball.

You can watch 25News – any newscast, anywhere – streaming LIVE on 25NewsNow.com, our 25News mobile app, and on our WEEK 25News SmartTV streaming app. Learn more about how you can get connected to 25News streaming live news here.

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