Kentucky Derby moved to September 5; Preakness & Belmont also will be pushed to fall

As expected, Churchill Downs Inc. announced Tuesday morning that the 2020 Kentucky Derby will not be run on the first Saturday of May as is tradition but will be moved to Sept. 5 due to the coronavirus – Sept. 5 also happens to be the first full Saturday of the 2020 college football season, so that should be quite a day for bettors assuming life is back to normal by then.

Churchill Downs Inc. CEO, Bill Carstanjen said there was never any thought of canceling the 146th Run for the Roses. This will be the first time since 1945 that the first leg of the Triple Crown will not be run on the first Saturday of May. That year, it was moved to June because of World War II. The Kentucky Oaks is usually the day before the Derby and will be run Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs.

According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, there will be new "Road to the Kentucky Derby" prep races added during the summer and Derby points already earned will count. Authentic, one of the early favorites for the Derby on the horse racing picks, leads the points race currently with 60.

NBC Sports holds the TV rights to the three Triple Crown races, and Carstanjen said NBC Sports is in talks with Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore and Belmont Park in New York to move the Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes. If those two races stay in their traditional spacing after the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness would be run Sept. 19 and the Belmont Oct. 10.