Kentucky Derby | Horse Racing Free Tips

‘I’ve Never Seen Him Take A Deep Breath’: Tagg Unconcerned About Travers Distance With Tiz The Law

Trainer Barclay Tagg is looking forward to Saturday's Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga with even money morning-line favorite Tiz The Law, and he doesn't believe the 1 1/4-mile distance will be a problem for the 3-year-old son of Constitution.

“He's done everything we've asked him to do,” Tagg told NYRA publicity after Wednesday's post position draw. “We've been very fortunate. I don't think any distance makes a difference for this horse. From what I've seen, I just don't have any feeling that he can't handle it. It would be nice to win it if we could.

“I've never seen him take a deep breath. I've never had him out of breath after a workout. I've never had him way out of breath after a race and he [cools] off very quickly. His lungs settle right down and nothing seems to be a hazard. I could be all wrong in that. It might change in another eighth of a mile, I don't know, but I've got no reason to worry about it.”

Tiz the Law will break from post position six in a field of eight, and the Sackatoga Stable colt will be ridden by regular jockey Manny Franco.

“I think he's matured enough now that outside or inside is not going to bother him too much,” said Tagg of the post. “I'd prefer that he's on the outside just because you have less chance of getting in trouble. Not that you can't, but you have less chance. I think post 6 is fine. Five would have been fine. Four would have been fine. Any of those three would have been fine with me.”

The Belmont Stakes and Florida Derby winner has a total of 272 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, and tops the current leaderboard approaching the rescheduled classic on Sept. 5. The $1 million Travers will offer 100-40-20-10 points to the top-four finishers.

With four weeks between the Travers and the Run for the Roses, Tiz the Law will face a field that includes lightly-raced Bob Baffert trainee Uncle Chuck, last-out winner of the Los Alamitos Derby.

“Bob Baffert does very, very well,” Tagg said. “He's got fresh stock all the time and good horses, so you've always got to be concerned. But if you let the concern bother you too much, you wouldn't be racing horses. You can't worry about that. All I worry about his having my horse get there the best we can get him there. He's done everything we've asked him to do.”

The full field for the Travers is as follows:

First Line – Orlando Noda – David Cohen (30-1)
Country Grammer – Chad Brown – Irad Ortiz, Jr. (6-1)
Uncle Chuck – Bob Baffert – Luis Saez (5-2)
Max Player – Linda Rice – Joel Rosario (6-1)
Shivaree – Ralph Nicks – Junior Alvarado (30-1)
Tiz the Law – Barclay Tagg – Manny Franco (1-1)
Caracaro – Gustavo Delgado – Javier Castellano (10-1)
South Bend – Bill Mott – Jose Ortiz (15-1)

The post ‘I’ve Never Seen Him Take A Deep Breath’: Tagg Unconcerned About Travers Distance With Tiz The Law appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Major Fed Team Decides To Skip Ellis Park Derby, Train Up To Kentucky Derby

Major Fed, runner-up in the Indiana Derby on July 8, had been under consideration for Sunday's Ellis Park Derby at the Henderson, Ky. track. Instead, Travis Foley, assistant and son to trainer Greg Foley, told the Daily Racing Form that the 3-year-old son of Ghostzapper will head straight to the Kentucky Derby on Sept. 5.

Based at Churchill Downs, Major Fed worked a half-mile beneath the Twin Spires in :50.20 on Aug. 1.

“We're happy with where we are with him and comfortable with the points situation,” the younger Foley told drf.com. “Everything's good and we didn't feel like we needed the race in between.”

Major Fed also owns a second-place finish in the G2 Risen Star Stakes, and a fourth from the G2 Louisiana Derby, leaving him with a total of 38 points toward the Kentucky Derby. He currently sits 16th on the points leaderboard.

Economic Indicators: Total 2020 Handle Continues To Show Signs Of Recovery

Equibase, LLC released its monthly report on Economic Indicators in Thoroughbred Racing this Wednesday, Aug. 5. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Equibase is currently providing monthly reporting of its Economic Indicators Advisories. The Advisory is typically disseminated on a quarterly basis to provide key metrics used to measure racing's performance throughout the year.

While the pandemic means most tracks are currently racing without fans, average daily wagering in 2020 continues to show strong increases over 2019 numbers as racing remains one of the few sports able to operate in concert with pandemic protocols. In the month of July, average daily wagering was up 41.83 percent in 2020, while the year-to-date figures show an increase of 41.72 percent.

Overall wagering figures are still showing the effects of the rescheduled Kentucky Derby, though year-to-date total handle is down just 6.96 percent thus far in 2020. Considering that the total number of race days and races held in 2020 are down 34.25 percent and 33.08 percent, respectively, the total handle is actually doing quite well.

Additionally, numbers from the first six months of 2020 showed year-to-date wagering down 10.88 percent, so the differential is decreasing as 2020 goes on and racing adjusts to a “new normal.”

Whether the Kentucky Derby will be able to be held with fans present remains to be seen, and that could affect how handle continues to recover through the remaining months of one of the most unique years in recent history.

July 2020 vs. July 2019
Indicator	July 2020	July 2019	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$1,098,943,728	$942,243,633	+16.63%
U.S. Purses	$90,224,084	$103,342,574	-12.69%
U.S. Race Days	398	484	-17.77%
U.S. Races	3,280	3,742	-12.35%
U.S. Starts	24,984	26,612	-6.12%
Average Field Size	7.62	7.11	+7.11%
Average Wagering Per Race Day	$2,761,165	$1,946,784	+41.83%
Average Purses Per Race Day	$226,694	$213,518	+6.17%

YTD 2020 vs. YTD 2019
Indicator	YTD 2020	YTD 2019	% Change
Wagering on U.S. Races*	$6,154,466,247	$6,615,017,905	-6.96%
U.S. Purses	$414,380,742	$647,344,706	-35.99%
U.S. Race Days	1,699	2,588	-34.35%
U.S. Races	14,186	21,199	-33.08%
U.S. Starts	113,058	156,851	-27.92%
Average Field Size	7.97	7.40	+7.71%
Average Wagering Per Race Day	$3,622,405	$2,556,035	+41.72%
Average Purses Per Race Day	$243,897	$250,133	-2.49%

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Kentucky Governor Fields Questions About Derby Spectators, Watching State’s COVID Numbers Carefully

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear told press Tuesday that he will meet with officials at Churchill Downs next week to confer about safety protocols for this year's Kentucky Derby. Beshear answered questions from reporters after an announcement that the Indy 500 will take place with no fans.

Beshear said that if the race were about to be run in the coming days, he would like to see changes to the track's plan, which calls for reduced capacity in all areas of the facility. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, plans approved by Beshear in May call for a 33 percent capacity in outdoor dining areas, 61 percent fewer general admission tickets, and 57 percent less outdoor seating. Churchill Downs officials said on an earnings call last week that the track had stopped selling its limited offer of general admission tickets recently despite not selling out.

The Courier-Journal reported Churchill Downs staff are in regular communication with Beshear's office and public health officials and will be monitoring COVID-19 statistics particularly closely through the next week. Daily statewide totals of coronavirus positives have increased sharply from what they were in March and April. The state's positivity rate has also climbed to 5.24 percent Tuesday based on a seven-day rolling average. State health officials have urged Kentucky residents to avoid travel to states experiencing spikes in COVID-19 positives, and to quarantine for two weeks after returning from travel to states with a 15 percent positivity rate or higher.

Read more at the Louisville Courier-Journal

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