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Tiz The Law Ascends To Top Of Breeders’ Cup Classic Rankings

Following his dominant win in last Saturday's Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1) at Saratoga, Sackatoga Stable's 3-year-old Tiz the Law is the new No. 1 in the 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, a weekly poll of the top 10 horses in contention for the $7 million Longines Breeders' Cup Classic (G1), which is scheduled to be held at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington on Nov. 7.

The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings are determined by a panel of leading Thoroughbred racing media, horseplayers and members of the Breeders' Cup Racing Directors/Secretaries Panel. Rankings will be announced each week through Oct. 13. A list of voting members can be found here.

Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law (265 votes) remained undefeated in four starts this year, rolling to a 5 ½-length victory in the Travers under jockey Manny Franco. Tiz the Law, a New York-bred son of Constitution, will be pointed next to the Kentucky Derby (G1) on Sept. 5 at Churchill Downs, which is the second jewel in this year's restructured Triple Crown. Tiz the Law, who earned 11 first-place votes in this week's poll, won the Belmont Stakes (G1) on June 20 prior to his Travers score.

GMB Racing's Tom's d'Etat (262 votes), was tied for first with the 4-year-old Maximum Security in last week's Classic Rankings, but drops to second place. Trained by Al Stall Jr., the 7-year-old Tom's d'Etat, winner of the Stephen Foster Stakes (G2), is five points ahead of third-place Maximum Security (257 votes). Owned by Gary and Mary West, Michael Tabor, Mrs. John Magner and Derrick Smith, Maximum Security won the San Diego Handicap (G2) at Del Mar on July 25 for trainer Bob Baffert. Maximum Security received 10 first-place votes from the panel this week.

A second Baffert-trained runner, WinStar Farm, CHC Inc. and SF Racing's Improbable (201 votes), drops from third to fourth place this week. The 4-year-old chestnut son of City Zip earned a “Win and You're In” automatic starting position into the Breeders' Cup Classic following his 2-length victory in the Whitney (G1) at Saratoga on Aug. 1.

Allied Racing Stable's 4-year-old By My Standards (124 votes), second in the Whitney, retains fifth place in the rankings. Trained by Bret Calhoun, By My Standards won the New Orleans Handicap (G2) and the Oaklawn Handicap (G2.

W.S. Farish's 4-year-old Code of Honor (110 votes) remains in sixth place. Trained by Claude R. “Shug” McGaughey III, Code of Honor, who won the Westchester Stakes (G3) at Belmont Park in June, finished fourth in the Whitney.

Bruce Lunsford's 3-year-old Art Collector (93 votes) jumped from 10th to seventh place this week following his front-running victory in last Sunday's Ellis Park Derby as the odds-on favorite. A bay son of Bernardini, trained by Tom Drury Jr., Art Collector remains unbeaten this year in four starts, including the Toyota Blue Grass Stakes (G2) at Keeneland on July 11.

Juddmonte Farms' 4-year-old Tacitus (90 votes) stays in eighth place in the Classic Rankings for the fourth consecutive week. Trained by Bill Mott, Tacitus swept to an 8 ¾-length victory in the Suburban Stakes (G2) at Belmont Park on July 4. He is expected to run next in the Woodward (G1) at Saratoga on Sept. 5.

Bloom Racing, Madaket Stables and Allen Racing's 5-year-old mare Midnight Bisou (81 votes), who was defeated as the odds-on favorite in Saratoga's Personal Ensign (G1) on Aug. 1., drops from seventh to ninth place this week.

The 4-year-old Vekoma (74 votes), trained by George Weaver, drops one spot this week to 10th place. Owned by R.A Hill Stable and Gatsas Stables, Vekoma is unbeaten in three starts this year, including two wins in Breeders' Cup Challenge Series races: the Runhappy Carter Handicap (G1), for the Breeders' Cup Sprint (G1), and the Runhappy Metropolitan Handicap (G1), for the Big Ass Fans Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1).

Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings – Aug. 11, 2020*

RANK	HORSE	TOTAL VOTES	FIRST-PLACE VOTES
1	Tiz the Law	265	11
2	Tom's d'Etat	262	8
3	Maximum Security	257	10
4	Improbable	201	2
5	By My Standards	124	0
6	Code of Honor	110	0
7	Art Collector	93	0
8	Tacitus	90	0
9	Midnight Bisou	81	0
10	Vekoma	74	0

*Note – The Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings have no bearing on qualification or selection into the Breeders' Cup Classic.

In the Breeders' Cup Classic Rankings, each voter rates horses on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 system in descending order.

The 2020 Longines Breeders' Cup Classic, which will be run at 1 ¼ miles on the main track at Keeneland, will be televised live on NBC.

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Zia Park Fall Meeting In Question Due To Pandemic’s Shutdown Of Casinos

Due to the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the fall meet at Zia Park, scheduled to run 54 days beginning Sept. 21 and running through Dec. 22, is uncertain.

New Mexico Horsemen's Association Executive Director Richard Erhard met via telecom with Chris McErlean, Vice President of racing at Penn National, and Bill Belcher, the general manager of Zia Park, on August 6 to discuss the status of the upcoming meet.

During the meeting, the main points established included that Penn National will continue to wait for confirmation from the New Mexico Governor's office stating that racetrack casinos will be allowed to open prior to making a final decision to hold a race meet.

Second, after that confirmation is made, it will take Zia Park five weeks of preparation to open, with racing to begin on the sixth week.

Given this timeline, Penn National does not see it as being advantageous for anyone to open Zia Park for a 2020 meet if confirmation to open casinos does not come until September 30 or later.

The NMHA hosted an open Zoom video conference on August 10, with more than 50 people in virtual attendance. This included horsemen and representatives from NMHA and other New Mexico racetracks.

“It was a very productive meeting, as far as I'm concerned,” Erhard said. “We're all in this together, and that's why I reached out to all stakeholders.”

Despite their casinos being closed, both Ruidoso Downs and The Downs at Albuquerque have opened their race meets under strict health guidelines.

Ruidoso opened its meet on May 22 and will run through Labor Day. It offers live viewing and wagering of the races, as well as a local drive-through betting service.

The Downs at Albuquerque opened its delayed meet on August 8, and will run through September 20. It is also scheduled to host the Bank of America Challenge Championships on October 24.

New Mexico House of Representatives member Candy Spence Ezzell is a horseman with a close understanding of racing in the state.

“First off, I have to applaud Ruidoso Downs, its owners and management, for going up and promoting our industry, giving the horses the opportunity to race,” she said. “They have gone above and beyond to accommodate the horsemen.”

As far as Zia Park goes, she said, there are contracts in place and if they refused to run dates, they could potentially be violating state statutes.

Horse racing is an important industry in New Mexico, she says, as it is the third largest in the state. Racing creates significant amounts of jobs within the industry itself, as well as being a high tourism driver when people attend the races, funding the hospitality, food and travel industries.

“The impact of COVID-19 on racing in New Mexico has just been disastrous, and I think everybody is realizing we're in this together and we need to work on this together,” Erhard said. “If we stay in silos and don't work with each other, I don't have much hope. If we work together and everyone's up front and put everything on the table, I think we can come up with a solution.”

The shut down has been extremely difficult for the racetracks, as well as horsemen, with a loss of revenue from the casinos and from customers. If Zia and Sunland casinos were to stay shuttered, it would also directly affect Ruidoso, as they have a lease agreement in place for slot machines that result in Ruidoso getting purse and track revenue generation through the lease agreements.

Jeff True, general manager at Ruidoso Downs and a member of the AQHA Racing Council, says that while racetracks are feeling it, the impact on horsemen is a big concern.

“We're going to finish our meet Labor Day weekend, as bad as it was revenue wise, and kind of shut down for the winter. Zia Park not opening means the horses that would normally go from here to Zia are not going to be able to do that; they're not going to have a place to go. So the impact on Ruidoso is less than it is on the horsemen.”

There are discussions ongoing about potential solutions, including moving race dates. True said that while Ruidoso is open to discussion, there is a great deal of work, including finding funding, that would need to be done to make that happen.

“We need everyone's input, we need everyone's brain power, and we need to find some solutions,” Erhard said. “We don't have a lot of time to fool around.

“Bottom line is, we want to race,” he added. “Horsemen need to race. We need a place to continue training. We need a place to go with our stock. This can't just stop.”

This story originally appeared on the American Quarter Horse Association website, and was reprinted by the Paulick Report with permission.

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Ellis Park Derby’s Attachment Rate, Necker Island Hope To Run For Roses

Second and third in Sunday's Ellis Park Derby, connections of Attachment Rate and Necker Island are hoping to run the 3-year-old colts in this year's rescheduled edition of the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Sept. 5.

Attachment Rate was defeated 3 1/4 lengths by Art Collector at Ellis, and his top four finishes in the G3 Matt Winn and G3 Gotham have earned the son of Hard Spun a total of 35 points toward the Run for the Roses. That places the Dale Romans trainee 18th on the leaderboard, ensuring him a spot in the starting gate.

“(The Ellis Park Derby,) that's the best race he's run for us so far, I think,” Romans told Horse Racing Nation. “With that being said, we should probably try the Derby.”

A further 5 1/4 lengths back at the wire, Necker Island has earned just 14 points toward the Kentucky Derby. That places him 28th on the points leaderboard, but with a number of defections expected this son of Hard Spun should make the main body of the field. Necker Island was a $100,000 claim in June at Churchill Downs, and is owned by Wayne Scherr and Raymond Daniels.

“If there's any way that there would be an open spot, he will be there for sure,” trainer Chris Hartman told Horse Racing Nation. “I think he'll probably be able to run a mile and a quarter. Class would be the other thing. I don't know. I know Wayne would love to run him in the race and it's going to have to have a lot of things unfold for him to get in there. You never can tell, I guess.”

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Godolphin, Cox Elect To Bypass Kentucky Derby With Shared Sense

Godolphin's Indiana Derby winner Shared Sense has been removed from consideration for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby, reports Horse Racing Nation. The son of Street Sense was most recently fifth behind Art Collector in the Ellis Park Derby.

“I just spoke with Jimmy Bell from Godolphin, and we have elected to bypass the Kentucky Derby and take it off of our radar,” trainer Brad Cox told HRN. “He will remain in training, and we will campaign him through the fall, but we will not point for the Kentucky Derby.”

Over his nine-race career, Shared Sense has compiled a record of three wins and two seconds for earnings of $327,745.

Among the options being considered for Shared Sense include the Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park on Sept. 27.