Thoroughbred Championship Series 2027: Races, Fees and the Preakness

What is the Thoroughbred Championship Series?

The Thoroughbred Championship Series (TCS) is a new 10-race series for 3-year-old Thoroughbreds, created by Churchill Downs Inc. and the New York Racing Association (NYRA) and starting in 2027. It ties the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes and eight other races into two points-based divisions, with more than $22 million in purses and prizes.

The news this week: on November 12, 2026, the two track operators opened nominations for the first season. A Churchill spokesperson told BloodHorse there is no plan to accept nominations for the 2027 Triple Crown races.

That is the part racing fans are reacting to. For about 40 years, one payment made a horse eligible for the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont. For 2027, the Derby and Belmont go through the TCS, and the Preakness will take its own nominations.

One thing to keep straight: the Triple Crown itself has not been abolished. All three races are still scheduled, and a horse that wins all three would still be a Triple Crown winner. What ended is the joint sign-up.

The 10 TCS races and their 2027 dates

The series runs at three tracks: Churchill Downs in Kentucky, and Belmont Park and Saratoga in New York. The Derby division has six races; the Oaks division, for fillies, has four.

The TCS Championship race is brand new. The other nine are existing stakes, most of them Grade 1s; if that label is new to you, see what a Grade 1 race is.

Daily Racing Form reports that each of the six Derby division races carries a seven-figure purse and that the Kentucky Derby stays at $5 million. The Belmont's 2027 purse has not been announced, and neither has its distance in its first year back at the rebuilt Belmont Park.

TCS nominations: fees and deadlines

Nominations are made online at TCSnominations.com. The price depends almost entirely on when you pay.

The exact cut-offs differ by a day between divisions. The third window ends April 24 for the Derby division and April 23 for the Oaks division; the fourth ends May 30 and May 29.

A few rules matter more than the numbers:

• One fee covers a whole division. A single nomination makes a colt or gelding eligible for all six Derby division races.
• Fillies go into both. A filly nominated to the TCS is automatically nominated to the Oaks and Derby divisions.
• No nomination, no points. A horse must be nominated to earn series points, appear in the standings or collect a bonus.
• Derby qualifying is tied in. Per Daily Racing Form, horses can earn Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks qualifying points only if they are nominated to the TCS.
• The last window is limited. The $25,000 nomination from May 31 to June 26 makes a horse eligible only for the final four Derby division races.

How the old Triple Crown nomination worked

Under the old system, one payment covered all three Triple Crown races. In the most recent cycle, that was $600 by the first closing date in late January, or $6,000 for a late nomination in early April.

Churchill Downs says 367 three-year-olds were nominated by the first closing date in that cycle. So the early price is a little lower now ($500 against $600), but the late price is far higher: $7,500 from December 11, then $75,000 from March 3.

The bonuses: $5 million, $1 million and $100,000 awards

On top of each race's purse, the series pays bonuses based on the final points standings. The details below come from Daily Racing Form's report on the rules.

Derby division, $5 million pool

• Shared by the top eight point earners.
• $1.5 million to the winner, $800,000 for second, down to $200,000 for eighth.
• A horse must run in at least four of the six races.
• Horses that skip the Travers or the TCS Championship get reduced bonuses.

Oaks division, $1 million pool

• $500,000, $300,000 and $200,000 to the top three fillies.
• A filly must run in at least three of the four races, and a Derby division race can stand in for one of them.

Trainers and jockeys

• $100,000 for trainers and $100,000 for jockeys, based on points across both divisions.
• In each group, the top three get $50,000, $30,000 and $20,000.

The design rewards showing up. A horse that wins the Derby and then goes to the sidelines cannot collect a Derby division bonus without at least three more starts in that division's races. The Oaks bonus has a lower bar: three starts, and per Daily Racing Form a Derby division race can stand in for an Oaks division race, so a filly who won the Derby could count it toward that requirement.

What a nomination is, and why owners pay it

A nomination is not an entry. It is an early fee that keeps a horse eligible for a race or series months before anyone knows whether the horse is good enough to run.

Owners pay it because the math is lopsided. Paying $500 in December for a promising 2-year-old costs little; finding out in March that an unnominated colt is a Derby horse now costs $7,500 or $75,000.

That is why big stables nominate widely. They pay the small fee on many horses, knowing most will never start in these races. Entry and starting fees are charged separately, closer to race day.

The same logic runs through other big events. The Breeders' Cup uses foal and stallion nominations, and horses outside the program pay heavily to get in, as we explain in our guide to the Breeders' Cup supplemental fee.

Where the Preakness stands for 2027

The Preakness Stakes is not one of the 10 TCS races. The Maryland Jockey Club told BloodHorse and Daily Racing Form that it will open nominations for the Preakness, with details coming very soon. As of November 13, no fee or deadline has been published.

What is confirmed:

• Date: Sunday, May 23, 2027.
• Place: the new Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore.
• Spacing: 22 days after the Kentucky Derby and 13 days before the Belmont.

That calendar is its own debate. The Preakness has traditionally come two weeks after the Derby, with the Belmont three weeks later. One owner with a leading 2027 Derby prospect told BloodHorse that 13 days between the Preakness and the Belmont makes a sweep very unlikely, while adding that his stable plans to nominate to both the TCS and the Preakness.

For a look at how another country keeps its three-race series together, see our explainer on the Canadian Triple Crown.

What to do and what to watch next

If you own a share in a 2-year-old, even through a partnership or syndicate:

1. Ask your trainer or managing partner whether the horse will be nominated before December 10.
2. Read the terms on TCSnominations.com before paying; nominations are only taken through the online form.
3. Budget for a separate Preakness nomination once Maryland publishes its fee.
4. If you have a filly, note that one nomination covers both divisions.

If you are a fan, these are the dates and announcements to watch:

• December 10, 2026: the $500 window closes. A count of early nominees may follow.
• Soon: the Maryland Jockey Club's Preakness nomination details.
• Still to come: the Belmont Stakes purse and distance for 2027.
• April 30 and May 1, 2027: the Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby open the series.
• September 25, 2027: the first TCS Championship at Churchill Downs.

We will update this page as those pieces land. For more racing explainers, browse Horse Academy trends or look up unfamiliar terms in the glossary.