Kentucky Derby 2020 Winner: It's An Authentic Upset
UPDATE: Tiz the Law, the biggest Kentucky Derby favorite in 31 years, was unable to overtake Authentic, who covered the mile-and-a-quarter distance in 2 minutes and 0.61 hundredths of a second, paying his backers $18.80 on a $2 bet for the win.
LOUISVILLE, KY — Forget the mint juleps and the women in exploding floral hats. While the 2020 Kentucky Derby will still have horses, the 146th edition is sure to be unlike any other.
None of the cheering from 150,000 fans will be heard this year at Churchill Downs, where America’s longest continuously held sports event will happen Saturday — four months later than usual. Jockeys will follow strict COVID-19 precautions, among other things.
The track initially planned to allow 23,000 fans to attend, until escalating positivity rates for the coronavirus in Louisville prompted organizers to change course.
Race time is 7:01 p.m. EDT.
Barclay Tagg’s Tiz the Law is the 3-5 favorite to win and looks to continue his dominant 3-year-old season in the Kentucky Derby. Tiz the Law already won the Belmont Stakes, the kickoff to the Triple Crown that was run in June at a shorter distance. A victory in the Derby would set him up for a Triple try in the Preakness on Oct. 3.
Tiz the Law has won six of seven career starts — his only loss came at Churchill Downs last year. Also in his favor is that he's already proved he can handle the Derby distance of 1 1/4 miles, the Associated Press reported, and won the Travers by 5 1/2 lengths over the same distance at Saratoga a month ago.
“He's checked all those boxes, and I believe he very well could win the Triple Crown this year,” Jerry Bailey, retired Hall of Fame jockey and NBC Sports analyst, told the AP.
The field has been reduced to 16 horses, smallest since 2003, AP reported. Honor A. P. is the 5-1 second choice. His trainer is John Shirreffs and the jockey is Mike Smith, who teamed to win the 2005 Derby with 50-1 shot Giacomo.
Authentic is the third choice at 8-1. He's trained by Bob Baffert, who also saddles 15-1 shot Thousand Words.
After Tiz the Law, Honor A. P. and Authentic, the other 13 horses are listed at double-digit odds. Churchill Downs is using a new, 20-horse starting gate especially for the Derby, although posts 1, 18, 19 and 20 will be left vacant after King Guillermo and Finnick the Fierce were scratched.
A win by Tiz the Law would make Tagg the oldest trainer to win a Derby at age 82.
Organizers aren't ruling out things to look different outside the track, too.
The death of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman shot and killed by police in her apartment in March, has fueled tense demonstrations for 100 consecutive days in Louisville. The three officers involved in her death have not been charged.
“I couldn’t be anything else but very concerned,” Tagg told the AP. “Hopefully, we can pull it off without anything disastrous happening.”
Saturday's forecast calls for partly sunny skies and a high of 82 degrees to go with humidity, a contrast to the cool and rainy weather when the race is usually run in late spring.
NBC Sports is home to the 146th Kentucky Derby, providing comprehensive race coverage and analysis live on NBC, NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app before, during and after the main event. Coverage begins at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Alternatively, cord-cutters can sign up for a free trial to fubo.tv and watch there.
This article originally appeared on the Across America Patch
