No fans, no certainty, still there’s favorite Tiz the Law
HORSE RACING
Barring governmental intervention, the Florida Derby and the 13 other races at Gulfstream Park on Saturday will go on with no spectators, no owners and no media thanks to the novel coronaviris pandemic.
The horse racing track and the city of Hallandale Beach have been at odds about whether racing horses violates Broward County’s order to shut down nonessential business, which went into effect early Monday morning. The track had no races on Monday or Tuesday as planned but resumed its racing schedule on Wednesday. The county has said it is up to individual cities to enforce the order.
Without fans betting and buying food and drinks at the Florida Derby, the day, which offers about $2 million in total purses including $750,000 for the Florida Derby, will almost certainly be a losing proposition for Gulfstream Park.
In an effort to cut those losses, Gulfstream announced there will be a mandatory distribution of its Rainbow 6 pool. This normally generates millions of dollars in bets. Those bets will have to be made over Advanced Deposit Wagering accounts or at one of the few simulcast sites still in operation. With New York and Las Vegas, which have closed their casinos, out of the picture, the potential handle is greatly diminished. Moreover, The Stronach Group, which owns Gulfstream, has pledged that should there be any profits, they will be donated to coronavirus causes.
The races will be telecast on Fox 1, TVG and via streaming at gulfstreampark.com.
Trainers of two of the leading contenders could be in a quandary.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that everyone over 65 should self quarantine for two weeks. Barclay Tagg, who conditions Tiz The Law, the morning line favorite, is 82. Patrick Biancone, who normally would saddle second choice Ete Indien, is 67.
It’s unfortunate the usual gala elbowto-elbow Florida Derby crowd will not be on hand. The shutdown of racing in New York and Kentucky has eliminated traditional Kentucky Derby preps, the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland and the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct. This has led to four of the top 10 3-year-olds in most Kentucky Derby polls making the mileand-an-eighth Florida Derby their target.
Tiz The Law has won three of his four starts, including a decisive score in the Holy Bull. Ete Indien, second in the Holy Bull, came back to romp by more than eight lengths in the Fountain of Youth. Independence Hall won his first three starts by big margins then ran second in the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay in his first start around two turns.
Gouverneur Morris has been highly regarded since winning his debut by nine lengths at Saratoga. He ended his 2-year-old season with a second in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. He began his 3-year-old season with a facile victory in a prep at Tampa Bay Downs, a strategy his trainer Todd Pletcher employed with his Kentucky Derby winners Super Saver and Always Dreaming.
A victory by any of the eight other hopefuls would constitute a major upset.