Kentucky Derby 2020 Odds: Tiz the Law

Kentucky Derby Horse Profile: Tiz the Law

By Ed McNamara

Like a jaguar, Tiz the Law stalks patiently before his instant acceleration eliminates his prey. This New York-bred win machine is expected to be the first odds-on Derby favorite since Arazi in 1992.

He’s 4-for-4 this year – Holy Bull (G3), Florida Derby (G1), Belmont Stakes (G1), Travers (G1) – by an average margin of four lengths, and jockey Manny Franco still hasn’t had to ask him for his best.

Tiz the Law would be undefeated if not for a bad-trip third in a rainstorm last November at Churchill Downs, where he lost by less than a length. Eventually, he’ll run a bad one, but he couldn’t be more intimidating. Just hope that none of the field’s many no-hopers get in this superstar’s way.

On Sunday morning (Aug. 23), he worked 5 furlongs in 59.47 seconds at Saratoga under regular exercise rider Heather Smullen – the fastest of 16 at the same distance.

Profiles will be updated with morning-line odds and post position after the field is drawn on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

TIZ THE LAW

Odds: TBD

Post position: TBD

Jockey: Manny Franco

Trainer: Barclay Tagg

Owner: Sackatoga Stable

Career record: 7-6-0-1

Career earnings: $2,015,300

Top Equibase speed figure: 117

Kentucky Derby points: 372 (1)

Pedigree: Constitution-Tizfiz, by Tiznow

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notes: Tiz the Law is the first NY bred in 138 years to win the Belmont Stakes… The Sackatoga Stable/Barclay Tagg combo has been together for nearly two decades, and brought us Funny Cide in 2003 — the New York bred gelding who won the Derby and Preakness, but came up short in the Belmont in his bid for a Triple Crown… This will be Tagg’s sixth Derby starter; in addition to winning with Funny Cide, his other runners were Showing Up (sixth in 2006); Nobiz Like Shobiz (10^th in 2007); and Tale of Ekati (fourth) and Big Truck (18^th), both in 2008… This will be Manny Franco’s third Derby – he was 17^th aboard Tencendur in 2015 and 18^th aboard Spinoff in 2019.

(US Racing’s Kentucky Derby will include profiles of the horses listed as probable for the race on Saturday, Sept. 5. Each day until the post-position draw on Tuesday, Sept. 1, US Racing will publish selected profiles of the contenders.)