Al Bello/Getty Images
Tiz The Law was the prohibitive favorite heading into the Belmont Stakes. He showed why with a dominant performance on Saturday, winning by four lengths with a dominant final push down the stretch.
Dr Post finished second, while Max Player came in third and Pneumatic fourth.
The total purse for this year’s Belmont Stakes was $1 million, with $535,000 going to Tiz The Law. Here is the payout information (per the NBC broadcast):
- Tiz The Law: Win ($3.60), Place ($2.90), Show ($2.60)
- Dr Post: Win (n/a), Place ($5.80), Show ($4.20)
- Max Player: Win (n/a), Place (n/a), Show ($5.20)
Tap It to Win finished fifth, followed by Sole Volante Modernist, Farmington Road and Fore Left.
Heading into the Kentucky Derby—which won’t take place until Sept. 5 because of the COVID-19 pandemic—Tiz The Law will again be the prohibitive favorite. And after Saturday’s dominant performance he looks like a horse capable of pulling off the Triple Crown in a bizarre year for the event given the modified schedule.
Ray Paulick @raypaulick
Thoroughly professional win in the G1 Belmont Stakes by Tiz the Law, confidently ridden by Manny Franco and skillfully conditioned by Barclay Tagg. Dr Post second, Max Player third. 9 furlongs in 1:46.53, a Belmont Stakes record for the distance that I hope will last forever.
Granted, Tiz The Law will probably need to run another race before then, presenting its own challenges for trainer Barclay Tagg and jockey Manuel Franco. But regardless of what’s to come, he made history on Saturday, ending a long drought for New York-bred horses at the Belmont:
“[This horse means] just everything,” Tagg said after the win, per the NBC broadcast. “I’m just glad I’ve lived long enough to have another horse like this.”
Tiz The Law is Tagg’s best horse since Funny Cide, who won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness but finished third in the Belmont. And he’s also his best shot at winning an elusive Triple Crown, though Tagg has noted that the two horses run different styles.
“They are completely different horses,” he said, per Mia Zanzucchi of NBC Sports. “Tiz is more malleable. Funny Cide was all run. You couldn’t hold him. He was a strong horse and very tough.”
This year’s Triple Crown will be a fascinating one to look back on, given the unique changes to the race lengths. The Belmont ran at 1⅛ miles rather than its usual 1½ miles to compensate for the alterations to the calendar. That contributed to the bizarre feel of the day, as did the lack of fans in attendance.
But none of it took away from Tiz The Law’s dominance. There can be no doubting after Saturday that he will be a horse to be reckoned with at Churchill Downs.
