I'm a few years short of "old codger" status, but I am old enough to remember when major preps were held two weeks (or less) before the Derby. Go back even a few years before my time, and you're hard-pressed to find a Derby starter whose last pre-Derby run was more than two weeks beforehand.
Today, few horses running the Derby-Preakness double have had previous experience running two demanding races at two-week intervals. I have to wonder if that is a major factor.
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