2020 Kentucky Derby Contender: Tiz The Law
Age: 3 year old Colt
Owner(s): Sackatoga Stables LLC
Trainer: Barclay Tagg
Bred: New York by Twin Creeks Farm
Pedigree: Constitution - Tizfiz by Tiznow
Record: 7-6-0-1
Earnings: $2,015,300
The team behind 2003 Kentucky Derby winner Funny Cide is back with another New York-bred colt named Tiz the Law. With his stamina-oriented pedigree (two-time Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Tiznow is his broodmare sire), Tiz the Law is bred to handle the distance of the Kentucky Derby. He would have been a logical contender for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), but his connections passed on the cross-country trip journey to Santa Anita in order to save their promising colt for the first Saturday in May.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 Triple Crown season was significantly altered in the spring, with the Kentucky Derby postponed to Sept. 5 and the Preakness Stakes to Oct. 3. The Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets, originally scheduled for June 6, was rescheduled to June 20 and shortened to 1 1/8 miles. Sackatoga Stable and Tagg pointed Tiz the Law to the Belmont Stakes, and he was sent off as an odds-on favorite against nine opponents. In the one-turn Belmont Stakes, Tiz the Law broke sharp out of the gate and stalked pacesetter Tap It to Win in third through the backstretch and into the turn. He dispatched that opponent at the top of the stretch and pulled clear of the field, coasting to a 4 ¾-length victory over Dr Post that kicked off an unprecedented Triple Crown season. Tiz the Law earned 150 Kentucky Derby qualifying points with his Belmont win, boosting his overall total to 272.
Tiz the Law was equally impressive in August at Saratoga, where he stalked pacesetter Uncle Chuck, moved alongside that opponent on the final turn, and then surged clear to a 5 1/2-length runaway victory in the $1 million Runhappy Travers Stakes. He picked up another 100 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby leaderboard and cemented his status as the favorite for the run for the roses as well as the clear leader of the 3-year-old male division.
