Tiz the Law Passes on Preakness, Bound for Breeders’ Cup

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To the surprise of few, standout 3-year-old Tiz the Law will bypass the Preakness Stakes and train for the Breeders’ Cup Classic, according to his primary owner, Jack Knowlton.

Tiz the Law-Skipping Preakness
Finishing second in the Kentucky Derby took more out of Tiz the Law than his victories did. He’ll skip the Preakness Stakes and focus on the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic. (Image: Jamie Squire/Getty)

The managing partner of Sackatoga Stable, the Saratoga Springs-area consortium which owns Tiz the Law, Knowlton confirmed his prize colt will skip the third and final Triple Crown leg.

Knowlton tweeted on the Sackatoga Stable account that “Tiz the Law officially skipping #Preakness – 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.”

Trainer Barclay Tagg told the Daily Racing Form that Tiz the Law came out of his Kentucky Derby runner-up finish “a little stiff.” Reports indicated that Tiz the Law wasn’t ready to put in the breezes Tagg and assistant trainer/exercise rider Robin Smullen wanted heading into the Oct. 3 Preakness. The four-time Grade 1 winner is 6-for-8 in his career, with both losses coming at Churchill Downs.

In both instances, Tiz the Law didn’t rebound as well as he had coming out of his victories. Even coming out of his career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure romp in the Aug. 8, 1 ¼-mile Travers, Tiz the Law bounced right into his workout routine without hesitation.

No Triple Crown Shot Means No Preakness Bid

Tiz the Law tends to be a fresh, happy horse when he comes out of layoffs. He won the Florida Derby in March coming out of an eight-week layoff, the Belmont Stakes in June coming out of 12 weeks, and the Travers coming out of seven weeks. He’ll enter the Classic off a nine-week break.

“Since we have no shot at winning the Triple Crown, our big goal with this colt is, of course, the Breeders’ Cup (Classic),” Tagg told the Daily Racing Form. “We really want to go into the Breeders’ Cup with a fresh, happy horse.”

For the Classic, Tiz the Law sits as a 5/1 favorite on several overseas betting sites. He opened at +475 on Circa Sports’ recently unveiled Preakness futures board. He closed at +410.

Derby Winner Authentic Now Around 8/5

This created a domino effect on Circa Sports’ board. Derby winner Authentic, who held off 7/10 favorite Tiz the Law down the stretch, opened as the +225 favorite. He now rests at +165, a likely byproduct of two factors. The first being Tiz the Law’s defection and the second being the fact no Bob Baffert-trained Derby winner ever lost the Preakness.

“Obviously with Tiz out, it shortens Authentic and Art Collector considerably,” Circa Sports Risk Supervisor Paul Zilm told OG News via text. “I expect both of them, and Thousand Words, to take much of the action in the early stages of betting. Assuming there are no new surprises, it’s a pretty clear top three.”

Art Collector already took his share of action. After opening at +425, he sits at +305. Thousand Words, the “other Baffert” in the field, is +715.

Meanwhile, Tiz the Law galloped 1 ½ miles Tuesday morning at Belmont Park and Tagg said it was the first time since the Sept. 5 Derby that the Belmont and Travers victor looked like his usual self.

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