New date set for Preakness. See when the second leg of the Triple Crown will be run.

A new date has been set for the second leg of horse racing’s Triple Crown.

The 145th Preakness Stakes will be run on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore. The announcement was made on NBC during a special broadcast, which included a replay of American Pharoah’s victory in the 2015 Preakness.

The Preakness was originally scheduled for Saturday but was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. The Kentucky Derby has been rescheduled for Sept. 5. A new date for the Belmont Stakes, the third leg of the Triple Crown, has not yet been set.

Triumphant return

A thrilling comeback story played out Saturday at Churchill Downs on the first day of the legendary track’s Spring Meet, which was delayed by three weeks because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Returning from an 18-month layoff, Monomoy Girl took the lead in the stretch and breezed to a three-length victory in the fourth of 11 races.

The 5-year-old mare, who is just the second horse to win both the Kentucky Oaks and Breeders’ Cup Distaff, went off as the 1-2 favorite and won for the 10th time in 14 career starts.

Monomoy Girl went to the sidelines in September after suffering a minor hamstring pull but returned to trainer Brad Cox’s string in February.

“I was starting to doubt her return at that point,” Cox said. “I remember when it happened when she just wasn’t right after a work in September. I thought that was going to be the end of her career on the racetrack and she’d become a mom but these guys that own her are game and it’s good for the sport to see her return to the races.”

Santa Anita cleans up

Santa Anita reopened Friday after almost two months, and based on the amount of money bet, it seems as if the public was more than ready for racing to resume at the California facility.

The nine-race card pulled in $11,207,076 in wagering compared with $3,944,391 on March 20. The track was shut down March 27.

There were no fans at Santa Anita on Saturday and only essential track personnel, numbering fewer than 100, were allowed to be at the racing portion of the 320-acre property.

Not included in the count of essential personnel, but at the track and mostly isolated, were the 55 trainers who ran 90 horses and the 21 jockeys who rode them. Those in close proximity to others, including jockeys, were wearing masks.

Belmont back soon

New York will allow horse racing tracks to reopen June 1 with the easing of the coronavirus outbreak.

But Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday was quick to add a caveat: “No crowds. No fans.”

In a press release, New York Racing Association President Dave O’Rourke applauded the move and said the organization will announce race dates and a stakes schedule for Belmont Park “in the very near future.”