One horse. One race.

They're all that separates Thoroughbred racing from experiencing its 14th Triple Crown winner this year and all the ancillary benefits of attention, popularity, buzz and -- in 2025-speak -- influence.

And people want to run around shouting about the sky falling.

Journalism ran in all three legs of the series -- finishing second in the Kentucky Derby-G1, winning the Preakness Stakes-G1 and again placing second in the Belmont Stakes-G1. Sovereignty won the Derby and the Belmont, stopping Journalism from joining Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed, American Pharoah and Justify on the list.

So one horse stopped Journalism's Triple Crown bid.

Just so we're straight on this, Sovereignty won the Derby and the Belmont but bypassed the Preakness -- won by Journalism.

So one race stopped Sovereignty's Triple Crown bid.

No one knows what would have happened if Sovereignty contested the Preakness, but it all might just mean there's nothing wrong with three major races in five weeks. An owner or trainer might opt to run a horse in all three -- as Journalism's did; another might choose to run in just two of the races -- as Sovereignty's did.

And that's just fine.

From a marketing/media/attention standpoint, racing will always deal with the issue of continuity from one race to the next. The athletes are animals and their connections have options, which means the starting lineups won't always be the same. And, even if it's good for the game, no one should run if they don't think it's the right decision for their horse.

Of course, without the Derby winner trying to keep Triple Crown hopes alive, the Preakness suffers, and the Belmont Stakes always means more when there's a Triple Crown on the line. Adjusting the schedule to make those things more likely sounds logical, but cheapens the achievement of a sweep and risks losing the public's attention in the process. Casual fans have a hard enough time following Thoroughbred racing. Making them try to do it over a longer period presents another challenge.

One horse ran in all three legs of the Triple Crown this year, and his people wouldn't change anything -- other than the result.

"I can't imagine being around a horse better than Journalism and while he was 2-1-2 in all three legs, he didn't do it," said Aron Wellman of Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners. "He ran great in all of them, take nothing away from the horse. In many other years, he probably wins the Triple Crown, but he ran into Sovereignty. It's supposed to be hard, it's supposed to take a special plus, plus, plus horse to do it."

Wellman has tried to climb the Triple Crown mountain before -- as an employee of Team Valor International when Animal Kingdom won the 2011 Derby, finished second in the Preakness and was sixth in the Belmont; with Danza, who finished third in the 2014 Derby and got hurt while training for the Belmont; with Destin, who finished sixth in the 2016 Derby and lost the Belmont by a nose; with Tapwrit, who finished sixth in the 2017 Derby and won the Belmont; with the filly Nest, who finished second in the 2022 Kentucky Oaks-G1 and the Belmont.

Other than with Animal Kingdom, losses in the Derby kept those horses out of the Preakness. So did circumstances. Running back in two weeks wasn't the right call, but the incentive to do so wasn't there either. Organizers should work to bring back a bonus program to reward participation in all three races, with a bigger payday for a sweep. Journalism's owners earned $2.56 million in purses for his three starts. Racing gained who knows how much more value because he tried all three; imagine if Sovereignty had gone along with him.

"It's a lot of money but it's not nearly what he deserves for doing what he did and the monetary upside that he brought to the industry and the racetracks for running in all three races . . . put any multiple you want on what we earned for doing it," Wellman said. "If we come up with some creative structure to incentivize people to be a little bit more bold about it, then I think you're going to get the best horses for it."

People still talk about the Triple Crown matchups involving Affirmed and Alydar in 1978 and Sunday Silence and Easy Goer in 1989. They're the stuff of legends, as are all the Triple Crown sweeps. It should take legends to join them in the discussion.

"It's reserved for those horses who can handle the rigor, the competition, the stress of those three races at those three tracks," said Wellman. "Don't change this. This is what makes it."