Florida Derby Winner ‘Tiz the Law’ Leads Top 3-Year Olds

Kentucky Derby Favorite Is ‘Tiz The Law’ Following Impressive Florida Derby Win

They fought the law, but the law won.

Tiz the Law (7-5) proved best again Saturday at Gulfstream Park, stalking the two leaders and taking control at the top of the stretch and then pulling away to win the $750,000 Florida Derby by 4 1/4 lengths.

Longshot Shivaree (80-1) held on for 2nd while Ete Indien (5-2) was 3rd, Gouverneur Morris (5-1) finished 4th and Independence Hall 5th to complete the Super High 5.

https://youtu.be/2Mnq6BuOOfs

Four horses were scratched – #3, 4, 6, 11 while #13 Rogue Element drew into the race but finished last of nine.

The top five finishers in order were #7 – 2 – 12 – 5 – 8

Pgm	Horse	Win	Place	Show
7	Tiz the Law	4.80	3.60	2.80
2	Shivaree		42.00	13.00
12	Ete Indien			3.40

Wager	Type	Winning Numbers	Payoff
$1.00	Exacta	7-2	94.20
$0.50	Trifecta	7-2-12	164.45
$0.10	Superfecta	7-2-12-5	129.30

Another reason to play the wheel when betting the Exacta, as even though the prohibitive favorite Tiz the Law (6-5) won the race, an 80-1 longshot Shiveree finished 2nd for a $2 exacta payoff of $188.40. A $2 exacta wheel with Tiz the Law on top would have cost $16 in the nine horse Florida Derby field.

A picture perfect ride and performance by Tiz the Law, who will head to the rescheduled Kentucky Derby Sept. 5 as the favorite. Tiz the Law will also be the favorite in the upcoming Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool 4, just as he was in the KYFW Pool 3 and Pool 2.

William Hill in Nevada posted Kentucky Derby futures odds of 7/2 on Tiz the Law’s following his dominating Florida Derby win at Gulfstream, which was part of my added coverage at TheLines that includes a Florida Derby Betting Guide.

Also, my coverage at Forbes included Florida Derby picks and analysis from industry insiders and handicappers including Gulfstream Park track announcer Pete Aiello, who I featured as a premier horse racing annoucer in the country. I chip in my insight, analysis & preferred picks, which included Independence Hall and Tiz the Law.

While the favorite Tiz the Law was best in the Florida Derby, the top two choices Tonalist’s Shape and Spice is Nice were not a factor in the Gulfstream Oaks. The winner was 9-1 shot Swiss Skydiver, who went gate to wire. Her victory secured a spot in the rescheduled Kentucky Oaks Sept. 4.

The Kentucky Derby points leaderboard now has Tiz the Law on top with 122 points. The leaderboard will continue to change as the major Derby prep races are run. However, as I noted in my additional coverage at TheLines, the April 4 Wood Memorial (Aqueduct) is postponed as the NYRA shut down the track at Aqueduct and suspended racing this past week. The April 4 Blue Grass Stakes (Keeneland) is also postponed as Keeneland recently canceled the entire spring meet due to health concerns over COVID-19. And just days ago, the Los Angeles Health Department shut down live racing at Santa Anita Park, so the April 4 Santa Anita Derby is also on hold and suspended until further notice. The Arkansas Derby (Oaklawn) has been rescheduled for May 2nd.

Watch for updates as the Road to the Kentucky Derby continues with the Travers States at Saratoga potentially being rescheduled to early August as a major Derby prep race for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby.

(Banner Photo Credit: Gulfstream Park)