NEW YORK (AP) -- Tiz the Law, ridden by jockey Manny Franco, won the 152st running of the Belmont Stakes on Saturday in front of eerily empty grandstands at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.
The favorite heading into 10-horse race, Tiz the Law crossed the finish line in 1:46.53. Dr Post finished second, Max Player finished third, and Pneumatic finished fourth. The top four horses earned Kentucky Derby qualifying points. For the full race results, click here.
THE NEW YORK HERO!!! TIZ THE LAW AND @jockeyfranco WIN THE $1,000,000 BELMONT STAKES! @nytbreeders pic.twitter.com/2z6SHNeldM
— Belmont Stakes (@BelmontStakes) June 20, 2020
Tiz the Law charged to the lead turning to the frontstretch and now can set his sights on the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby and Oct. 3 Preakness. All three legs of this year’s Triple Crown schedule were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Belmont, usually the series capper, was initially scheduled for June 6.
Tiz the Law gave New York a hometown champion in its first major sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic seized the area. The 3-year-old colt is the first New York-bred horse to win the Belmont since Forrester in 1882.
Saturday's Belmont Stakes was unlike any of the 151 that preceded it. The race was shortened to 1 1/8 miles instead of the usual 1 1/2 miles and had about 100 people, including jockeys, media and park staff, on hand to witness it. The Long Island track, which has been closed to the public since March, can typically pack in nearly 100,000.
Masks were mandated at the racetrack for all but the horses — even the jockeys wore face coverings.
Silence at the 115-year-old venue was broken when New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued the traditional "riders, up!" call remotely via video. Bugler Sam Grossman pulled down his facemask to tap out "Call to the Post," and racers strolled onto the track to a recording of Frank Sinatra’s "New York, New York." A PA announcer introduced them to empty grandstands.
Signs outside the locked down venue instructed gamblers that if they wanted to wager on this Belmont Stakes, their best bet was to download an app and do it on their phones.
Perhaps welcome harbinger for Tap It to Win, who led out of the gates and seemed poised to give trainer Mark Casse a third straight Triple Crown race victory.
Instead, Tiz the Law powered past him on the outside and cruised to a four-length victory.
Tiz the Law owner Jack Knowlton of New York’s Sackatoga Stable was set to watch from a restaurant patio in upstate Saratoga Springs. A little different than 17 years ago, when the Sackatoga crew took a school bus to watch their colt Funny Cide try to wrap a Triple Crown sweep at Belmont Park. Funny Cide finished third. Tiz the Law earned Knowlton the top share of a $1 million purse.
It was also a breakthrough win for 82-year-old trainer Barclay Tagg, who completed a career Triple Crown after also training Funny Cide.
"I’m just glad I lived long enough that I got another horse like this," Tagg said.
Franco, a 25-year-old jockey from Puerto Rico, entered the winner’s circle in his first career Belmont Stakes. He called Tiz the Law a "versatile" horse in the run-up to the race, and what he showed Saturday was typical — stalk the pacemakers early, then pounce on the home stretch.
Tiz the Law took advantage of a 10-horse field weakened by injuries. Among the casualties were two potential entrants from famed trainer Bob Baffert, who ended up without a horse in this race — one of then, Charlatan, is expected to run the Kentucky Derby.
Earlier Saturday, Gamine led all the way in winning the $300,000 Acorn Stakes for 3-year-old fillies by 18 3/4 lengths.
Trained by Baffert, Gamine ran one mile in 1:32.55, fastest in the 90-year history of the race. Her time was just off the track record of 1:32.24 set by Najran in 2003. Gamine earned 50 qualifying points for the Kentucky Oaks on Sept. 4 at Churchill Downs.
Gamine is one of two horses trained by Baffert that tested positive for a banned substance at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas. She won a race there on May 2. Published reports said Gamine, along with Charlatan, tested positive for lidocaine, a regulated anesthetic widely used in equine medicine.
