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Belmont winner Tiz The Law will not run at Preakness

john cherwa
·2 min read
FILE - In this June 20, 2020, file photo, Tiz the Law (8), with jockey Manny Franco up, approaches the finish line on his way to winning the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes horse race in Elmont, N.Y. Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law won't run in next month's Preakness, spoiling what would have been a highly anticipated rematch with Kentucky Derby winner Authentic. The Preakness on Oct. 3 at Pimlico concludes this year's reconfigured Triple Crown series, which was run out of order because of the coronavirus pandemic.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
Tiz The Law, with jockey Manny Franco, approaches the finish line on his way to winning the 152nd running of the Belmont Stakes on June 20. (Seth Wenig / Associated Press)

Tiz The Law, who three weeks ago was being talked about as a possible Triple Crown winner, will skip the Preakness Stakes after his disappointing second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby.

Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Tiz The Law’s owner Sackatoga Stable, made the announcement Tuesday on Twitter saying: “Disappointing that Tiz will not be able to run in the Preakness, our primary interest is doing what’s right for the horse & in this case he’s not ready.”

Knowlton said the 3-year-old colt will train up to the $6-million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 7.

In a year in which traditional schedules across almost all sports have been turned upside-down, Tiz The Law won the Florida Derby on its scheduled date of March 28, but then the Kentucky Derby and Preakness were postponed to the fall. The Belmont Stakes, normally the third leg of the Triple Crown at 1 1/2 miles, was held June 20 at 1 1/8 miles. He won that race.

Tiz The Law then went on to win the Travers Stakes, considered the Summer Derby after the normal conclusion of the Triple Crown races, on Aug. 8, his first race since the Belmont.

He was the 7-10 favorite in the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby but failed to advance on Authentic in the stretch, losing by a well-beaten 1 1/4 lengths. Authentic, trained by Bob Baffert, is scheduled to run in the Oct. 3 Preakness, as is his stablemate Thousand Words. In the Kentucky Derby, Thousand Words got agitated in the paddock, reared up and fell on his side, resulting in an automatic scratch.

Another horse that scratched out of the Kentucky Derby is Art Collector, who had a minor injury to his left front heel. He was the likely second favorite behind Tiz The Law in the Derby. The Preakness is run at 1 3/16 miles, a sixteenth of a mile shorter than the Derby.

If Tiz The Law runs in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, he will likely be going against Maximum Security, who has won six straight races including the $20-million Saudi Cup. Maximum Security runs Saturday at Santa Anita in the Grade 1 $300,000 Awesome Again Stakes.