NY-bred Tiz the Law wins barren Belmont Stakes
NEW YORK » Eerily empty grandstands. Masked jockeys. Shuttered betting windows.
For Tiz the Law trainer Barclay Tagg, no finer way to round out a career Triple Crown.
“I’m not trying to be a jerk about it,” the 82-yearold said. “But I thought the quiet, to me, was very nice.”
Everything was strange about this Belmont Stakes, except the winner.
Heavily favored Tiz the Law won an unprecedented Belmont, claiming victory Saturday at the first race of a rejiggered Triple Crown schedule that barred fans because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The 3-year-old colt from upstate New York charged to the lead turning for home and now can set his sights on the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby and Oct. 3 Preakness. All three legs of this year’s Triple Crown schedule were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Belmont, usually the series capper, was initially scheduled for June 6.
Tiz the Law gave New York a hometown champ in its first major sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic seized the area. He’s the first New York-bred horse to win the Belmont since Forester in 1882.
“It’s a lot smaller crowd, that’s for sure,” said owner Jack Knowlton, who watched from a restaurant patio in the familiar surroundings of Saratoga Springs.
The 4-5 favorite won by
3¾ lengths, covering the 1
1/8 miles in 1:46.53. Dr Post finished second and Max Player was third.
The race was shortened from the usual 1 ½-mile standard to account for competitors’ unusual training schedules. Horses kicked off from a starting gate placed atop the backstretch, rather than in front of the grandstands.
In most every way, this Belmont was unlike any of the 151 that preceded it. The Long Island track can pack in nearly 100,000, but this race had about 100 on hand, including jockeys, media and park staff.
Masks were mandated for all but the horses — even the jockeys wore face coverings.
Closed to the public since March, Belmont Park hardly resembled the summer soiree New Yorkers are used to. Betting windows and gift shops were closed, not a single boozy Belmont Breeze to sip.
Foot traffic was so slow that a few weeds over a foot tall had sprouted up between bricks paving the track-side pavilion.
Silence at the 115-year-old venue was broken when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued the traditional “riders, up!” call remotely via video. Longtime bugler Sam Grossman pulled down his facemask to tap out “Call to the Post,” and horses strolled onto the track to a recording of Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York.” A PA announcer introduced them to empty grandstands.
Signs outside the locked down venue instructed gamblers that if they wanted to wager on this Belmont Stakes, their best bet was to download an app and do it on their phones.