There’s no change at top
Tiz the Law still the horse to beat in latest rankings with Belmont three weeks away
Tiz the Law is still the leader, but the name of the poll has changed.
When we started this back in February, we called this the
Derby Dozen. It was our list of the top 12 horses headed to the Kentucky Derby.
And then it all changed. The Kentucky Derby was rescheduled to Sept. 5 because of the coronavirus pandemic and, last week, the New York Racing Association announced that the Belmont Stakes would be run on June 20. The $1 million Belmont, for the first time, now starts the Triple Crown with the Derby and Preakness (Oct. 3) to follow.
Now, we call our poll the Triple Crown Dozen, because it makes no sense to call it the
Derby Dozen.
I have been backing Sackatoga Stable’s Tiz the Law as the best 3-year-old and I am not going to change now as we head to the Belmont. The New Yorkbred son of Constitution has done nothing wrong since the season started. He has two wins, including the Grade I Florida
Derby, and has had seven works since, including the latest, five furlongs in 59.75 seconds at Palm Meadows in Florida last Sunday.
He’ll have one more work down south before shipping to Belmont Park next week. If all goes well, he’ll have two works at his home track before the Belmont. He has won off layoffs before, he can do it again.
“I haven’t seen anything yet that didn’t suit him,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. “He always seems to handle things.”
Since this poll last appeared, there have been three major developments. The most recent came Thursday when it was announced that the unbeaten Nadal, trained by Bob Baffert, has been retired after fracturing his left front leg during a workout at Santa Anita. He had successful surgery and is expected to make a complete recovery.
I had Nadal second behind Tiz the Law. His retirement makes me feel more confident about Tiz the Law.
“(Nadal) is the kind of horse tough enough to handle all three (Triple Crown) races,” Baffert said. “It’s a shame. All we can do now is move forward.”
Another Baffert runner, Charlatan, the runaway winner of the first division of the Arkansas Derby, came back with a positive test for a banned substance. Published reports said that Baffert may run him in the $150,000
Woody Stephens at seven furlongs on the Belmont undercard. Now, he could be back on target for the Belmont. Stay tuned.
A new contender emerged last weekend when Maxfield, who would not have been ready for the Triple Crown had it stayed with its original schedule, ran an impressive race in winning the Grade III Matt Winn at Churchill Downs by a length.
Maxfield was making his first start since last October. He missed the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile with an ankle injury and then had a chip taken out, causing him to be taken off the Triple Crown trail. Now, Maxfield is a horse — and there will be more — that will emerge as a contender because of the extra time before the Classic races start.
“To me, it looks like a very strong year,” Maxfield’s trainer Brendan Walsh said about this crop of 3-yearolds. “There are some quality horses. If you asked 10 different people who is the best, you would get 10 different opinions.”
twilkin@timesunion.com 518-4545415 @tjwilkin