Tiz the Law wins Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park
The traditional playing of is a hallmark of the foreplay to . Frank Sinatra's chorus was well received on Saturday, as was Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the law overtook Tap It to Win coming out of the turn and took a 3 ¾ length triumph becoming the first state-bred dog in 138 years to win the American Classic.
Tiz the Law became only the fourth New York-bred player, and the first since Forester in 1882, to earn a trip to the Belmont Stakes winner's circle. The Constitution colt has already recorded three Grade 1 victories, including points in the Champagne as a juvenile and a recent victory in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park in March. He now has five wins in six career starts and is 3-for-3 as a sophomore.
To secure the traditional carnation blanket, Tiz the Law, the 4-5 favorite for both teams, broke through well under jockey Manny Franco to take third place as Tap It to Win beat the 10-horse field in 23.11 seconds Through the first quarter mile the half was in 46.16 over the fast main route.
Franco let his protégé get out of the way slightly at the start of the corner and put Tiz the Law in the best position to overtake Tap It to Win on the outside at the end of the track. Tiz the Law took the lead from there and pushed hard on the wire to complete the 1 1/8-mile, one-turn course in a final time of 1:46.53.
“To me it looked like everything was going like clockwork,” said winning trainer Barclay Tagg. “This is how the horse likes to run and this is the position the horse likes to be in. Manny knows the horse very well. We discussed it quickly before I put her on the horse and I was very confident that Manny would ride her that way.” I felt pretty stable halfway through. It's a good feeling.
The Belmont Stakes – run as the first leg of the Tripe Crown for the first time in history and the first time since 1925 to be run over a distance other than 1½ miles – offered 150-60-30-15 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby. scheduled for September 5th at Churchill Downs. It was held without spectators.
The ageless Tagg said he would consider Tiz the Law for the Grade 1, $1 Million Runhappy Travers on Aug. 8 at Saratoga Race Course for a run in the rearranged Triple Crown series, with the Derby is scheduled for the following month and ends with the Preakness on October 3rd at Pimlico.
“The long-term plan would be the Travers, the Derby and then the Preakness. After that, they probably want me to take him to the Breeders' Cup,” Tagg said.
For Tagg, the Belmont Stakes was the only remaining classic that had eluded him. In 2003, he teamed up with Sackatoga Stable to promote Funny Cide, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness that year before finishing third in the Belmont that year.
Now the veteran conditioner can secure a career Triple Crown, setting another milestone in his illustrious career, which saw him train his first winner in 1972.
“Before that, I had been hoping to win the Belmont for a lot longer,” Tagg said. “Funny Cide still got us close and we topped it off today with Tiz the Law.”
Franco, NYRA's leading rider for the past two years, made sure Saturday was a day to remember for him. The 25-year-old won his first career Triple Crown race and has guided Tiz the Law to all four of his graded stakes victories, including three in a row, starting with the Grade 3 Holy Bully in February at Gulfstream Park.
“I was pretty confident when we got to the seven-eighths pole. He was so nice and relaxed with me,” Franco said. “He was so comfortable and never got hot, so I think that was the key.”
“I'm not going to lie, I was a little nervous [in the gate]but at the same time I was confident because I know what I'm capable of. As I said, I’m in good hands at Barclay,” he added.
Tiz the Law, bred in the Empire State by Twin Creeks Farm, returned $3.60 on a winning bet of $2, pushing his career earnings to over $1.5 million.
With a $110,000 purchase at the Fasig-Tipton New York Bed auction in Saratoga, he also improved to 5 out of 5 on fast tracks, with his only non-winning attempt a third-place finish in the 11/16 Race was. Mile in the Class 2 Kentucky Jockey Club in November on a sloppy and sealed track at Churchill Downs, which was the culmination of two years of his life.
“It's huge [to win the Belmont with a New York-bred]said Jack Knowlton, operations manager for Sackatoga Stable. “We've been with Barclay Tagg for 25 years and I keep telling everyone that Barclay doesn't get many big horses and big opportunities, but when he gets them he knows what to do.” Do. He's got his and Sackatoga has hers. Triple Crown, two different horses, two different years [Funny Cide, 2003]and not many people can say that.
Dr. Post, trained by three-time Belmont winner Todd Pletcher, defeated Max Player by 1½ lengths to finish second in his graded stakes debut.
“He ran great. “No excuse,” said Dr. Post jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. “He also got beaten by a good horse. The winner is a beautiful horse, bred from New York and he ran great. My horse is making progress. It’s him.” only had three races [going into the Belmont]. He just needs a little more time to figure things out.
Linda Rice, whose Max Player bid aimed to become the first woman to win a Triple Crown race, finished third by 2½ lengths from the Pneumatic, her fourth finish in as many career starts the board.
“He got pushed back a little bit after the break and had a wide slide in the corner, but he still kept going at the end,” Rice said. “He hasn’t run in five months so it was a pretty good performance.”
Tap It to Win, Sole Volante, Modernist, Farmington Road, Fore Left and Jungle Runner completed the finishing order.
