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Tiz The Law Continues To Lead NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll Ahead Of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes

All eyes figure to be on Tiz the Law when he makes his expected start in the Belmont Stakes on June 20 as the son of Constitution heads into the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown with a firm lead in the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll.

Trained by Barclay Tagg for Sackatoga Stable, Tiz the Law is expected to be the favorite for the Belmont Stakes, which will be contested over 1 1/8 miles this year instead of its usual distance of 12 furlongs. The bay colt most recently captured the Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28 and is the leader of the sophomore male ranks, earning 28 first-place votes and 360 points from poll voters this week.

Tiz the Law completed his final serious workout in preparation for the Belmont on June 14, breezing a half mile in :50.42 under regular rider Manny Franco.

“He makes my work a lot easier,” Franco told the NYRA publicity team after the colt's workout. “He's a versatile horse. He can be there on the pace or sit off, so I can do whatever I want.”

Honor A. P., winner of the Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby on June 6, remains second in the poll behind Tiz the Law with 9 first-place votes and 339 points. Authentic, second in the Santa Anita Derby, moved up one spot this week to third overall with 260 points followed by King Guillermo (201 points) and expected Belmont Stakes runner Sole Volante (171).

Grade 1-winner Maxfield (109 points) dropped to sixth overall in the wake of news that he would miss this year's Kentucky Derby due to a condylar fracture suffering during a June 10 workout.

Fellow Grade 1-winner Charlatan (97 points) is seventh with former stablemate Nadal (78) in eighth. Basin (72 points) and Ete Indien (70) complete the top 10.

Rankings were relatively stagnant this week in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with champion Midnight Bisou continuing to be unshakable from the No. 1 spot. The daughter of Midnight Lute earned 26 first-place votes and 343 points to stay atop the rankings as she prepares for an expected run in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes at Churchill Downs on June 27.

Grade 1-winner Mucho Gusto (245 points) and By My Standards (2 first-place votes, 244 points) remain second and third, respectively, followed by Code of Honor, who earned 3 first-place votes and 190 points in the wake of his victory in the Grade 3 Westchester Stakes on June 6.

Tom's d'Etat (138 points) holds in fifth followed by Zulu Alpha (1 first-place vote, 129 points). Vekoma, winner of the Grade 1 Carter Handicap on June 6, remains in the seventh spot with 119 points with champion Maximum Security (4 first-place votes, 100 points), Improbable (88), and McKinzie (83) rounding out the top 10.

Tiz the Law (25 points) was not ranked in the top 10 but did receive one first-place vote.

The NTRA Top Thoroughbred polls are the sport's most comprehensive surveys of experts. Every week eligible journalists and broadcasters cast votes for their top 10 horses, with points awarded on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. All horses that have raced in the U.S., are in training in the U.S., or are known to be pointing to a major event in the U.S. are eligible for the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll. Voting in both the Top 3-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

The post Tiz The Law Continues To Lead NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll Ahead Of Saturday’s Belmont Stakes appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Sole Volante To Wheel Back In 10 Days For Belmont Stakes

Following a strong performance in an allowance race last Wednesday at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Fla., Sole Volante will run back in just 10 days to start in the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes, reports the Daily Racing Form. To be run this Saturday at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y., the Belmont will be the first leg of the 2020 Triple Crown due to sweeping schedule changes caused by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.

Sole Volante, a 3-year-old son of Karakontie trained by Patrick Biancone, won the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes back in February before finishing second to King Guillermo in the G2 Tampa Bay Derby. The late-running colt is owned by Reeves Thoroughbred Racing and Andie Biancone.

Wednesday's allowance race saw Sole Volante fall back to the rear of the field, as much as 10 lengths off the pace, then close around the outside with a sustained bid and cross the wire a comfortable 3/4-length winner.

“His energy level is very high, very good,” Biancone said. “We gave him a prep for the Belmont, and he came out of it the way I was expecting. The only way you cannot win a race is if you don't run.”

Sole Volante will ship to New York on a Tuesday flight out of South Florida.

Anna House Set to Reopen June 22

The Belmont Child Care Association (BCCA) is set to reopen its Belmont Park daycare center Anna House June 22 with strict new safety protocols in place. The childcare and early-childhood education facility designed for the families of backstretch workers, most of whom are based at Belmont Park, has been closed since Mar. 17 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Teachers and staff at the facility are currently undergoing training on the new protocols, which will utilize the health guidance established by the New York State Department of Health, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (C.D.C.) and BCCA’s educational consultant, Bright Horizons, to combat the spread of COVID-19.

The facility will also incorporate opportunities for distance learning and at-home instruction.

“Virtual learning is a part of the ‘new norm,’ and we are committed to providing our children with the support they need to achieve success in school,” BCCA Executive Director Joanne K. Adams said.

While Anna House was closed, BCCA staff organized a drive to collect supplies for infants and toddlers who attend its education facility. Adams also worked with United Way of Long Island through its United Together Response Fund for COVID-19 to distribute donated gift cards, totaling more than $30,000 in value, to all backstretch workers at Belmont Park.

“Giving a solid head start to the children at Anna House is critically important to the whole ecosystem of the racetrack,” BCCA Board Chairman and co-founder Michael Dubb said. “Backstretch workers are the unsung heroes of the racing world. Helping their kids helps them and makes our industry and sport a lot stronger. It’s great to be getting back to what we do best.”

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Captain Bombastic, Saez Team Up To Take Belmont’s Mike Lee For New York-Breds

Team Hanley's Captain Bombastic ran down a game 38-1 longshot Listentoyourheart in the final furlong, overtaking him from the outside and holding on for a 1 1/4-length victory in Sunday's $100,000 Mike Lee for New York-bred 3-year-olds going seven furlongs at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Captain Bombastic, a stakes-winner against state-breds as a juvenile, continued a consistent start to his career, improving to 3-2-1 in six starts. To keep the streak alive, the Forty Tales colt first tracked the early speed as Listentoyourheart led the eight-horse field through an opening quarter-mile in 22.51 seconds and the half in 45.45 on the fast main track.

Under Junior Alvarado, Listentoyourheart was not content to be a mere pacesetter, holding the advantage out of the turn and continuing with a strong run near the rail at the top of the stretch.

Captain Bombastic, under Luis Saez, pressed on out of the turn and steadily gained ground on his rival before finally gaining command in the deep stretch. Saez kept up the pressure and Captain Bombastic responded, completing seven furlongs in 1:21.94.

“There was a nice pace up front. That was the plan,” Saez said. “I knew we had a couple speed [types] outside of us, so the plan was to track them. We got our spot and when we made our move he responded. I was very comfortable. I had a lot of horse. When he put me in that spot, I knew he was going to win.”

The Jeremiah Englehart trainee improved to 2-0-1 in three career starts. Bred by Chester and Mary Broman, Captain Bombastic, off at 3-1, paid $8.20 on a $2 win wager and improved his career earnings to $316,800.

“He's a really cool horse,” Englehart said. “He's not the biggest horse. He's small compared to most of the horses in this race, but he likes to run.

“He just looked really good coming into this race,” he added. “He's just very athletic and I thought Luis did a great job. I didn't want to be down in behind horses on the fence, I thought we'd be more in the clear, but it worked out well. I thought we would sit a stalking trip on the outside, but Luis rode him very confidently, saved the ground on the turn, split horses and had horse to finish.”

Listentoyourheart, trained by Christophe Clement, looked strong off a nine-month layoff, besting 8-5 favorite Dream Bigger by one length for second. The son of Afleet Alex started his sophomore campaign in the same strong fashion in which he commenced his juvenile year, when he won his debut last June before running second in the Rick Violette and third in the Funny Cide during the summer meet at Saratoga Race Course.

“He ran a big race,” Alvarado said. “He broke very sharp and I decided to try and take it from there. I thought maybe because I'm on a longshot, they would let me go out nice and easy. He did show that he belonged with these horses. He finished up well.”

City Man, Three Jokers, Mission Wrapitup, Bourbon Bay and Gandy Dancing completed the order of finish.

Live racing resumes Thursday with a 10-race card highlighted by the $125,000 Critical Eye for New York-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up going one mile on the main track in Race 9 at 5:36 p.m. Eastern. First post is 1:15 p.m.

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