Tiz the Law takes Travers to stay unbeaten this year
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Belmont winner Tiz the Law won the $1 million Travers Stakes by 5½ lengths at Saratoga, and heads to Kentucky for next month’s Derby as the probable favorite.
Co-owned by Houstonian Roger Sofer and ridden by Manny Franco,
Tiz the Law ran 1¼ miles in 2:00.65 on Saturday and paid $3, $2.40 and $2.10.
The 3-year-old colt remains undefeated this year with four straight graded stakes victories for 82year-old trainer Barclay
Tagg. He became the first New York-bred in 138 years to win the Belmont Stakes on June 20 in the first leg of the rescheduled Triple Crown series. Tiz the Law began his racing career at Saratoga last summer and has six wins in seven starts.
The Travers victory gave Tiz the Law 100 points in qualifying for the Kentucky Derby and he continues atop the leaderboard with 372.
Caracaro returned $6.40 and $4. Max Player, third in the Belmont, paid $3.70 to show.
Tiz the Law was third in the early going before overtaking leader Uncle Chuck near the quarter pole. Franco sneaked a peek behind him before taking Tiz the Law three horses wide and then two horses wide before straightening into the upper stretch. Tiz the Law geared down near the sixteenth pole and cruised home.
In other horse racing news:
• Ramona Hill matched the stakes record and became the second filly in three years to capture the $1 million Hambletonian at the Meadowlands in East Rutherford, N.J., posting a one-length victory in trotting’s biggest race of the year.
Driven by Andrew
McCarthy, the 3-year-old daughter of Muscle Hill covered the mile in 1:50.1 in equaling the record set by her father in 2009. The Tony Alagna-trained trotter paid $2.80, $2.10 and $2.10 as the favorite in the field of 10 3-year-olds.