Tiz The Law Continues To Reign On NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

Having added a dominant victory in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes to his already accomplished resume, Tiz the Law's status as the top sophomore runner in the country was further reinforced Monday when the son of Constitution earned 39 first-place votes and 390 total points to remain the clear leader on the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll. Beginning with his seasonal debut victory in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes, Tiz the Law has won his four starts in 2020 by a combined 16 ½ lengths. After becoming the first New York-bred in 138 years to win the Belmont Stakes, Tiz the Law became just the third New York-bred Travers winner and first since Thunder Rumble in 1992 when he annexed the Mid-Summer Derby by 5 ½ lengths on August 8. Trained by Barclay Tagg for owner Sackatoga Stable, Tiz the Law will now point to the Kentucky Derby on September 5 at Churchill Downs and currently sits atop the Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 372 qualifying points.
“He'll gallop every day,” Tagg told the NYRA publicity team. “He'll have about 10 days before we breeze him again. We'll probably only be able to get two breezes in him before we go out there. We'll go out there a week ahead of time.” Joining Tiz the Law in uncorking a statement-making performance this past weekend was Bruce Lunsford's Art Collector, who captured the Ellis Park Derby on August 9. That effort, combined with his win in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes on July 11, earned Art Collector 296 points to move him up to second in the poll. “Everything that we've wanted him to do, he's done,” trainer Tommy Drury said of Art Collector following his Ellis Park victory. “We're going into the race exactly the way we want to go into it.” Honor A. P., who finished second in the Shared Belief Stakes on August 1, drops one spot to third with 277 points with Grade 1 Haskell Stakes victor Authentic (264 points) in fourth. Top filly Gamine (204 points) moves up five spots to fifth in the wake of her handy victory in the Grade 1 Test Stakes on August 8 and she is followed in the rankings by her stablemate Thousand Words (162), who won the Shared Belief Stakes on August 1. Graded stakes-winner King Guillermo (103 points) is seventh while Haskell runner-up Ny Traffic (99) and Swiss Skydiver (78) rank eighth and ninth, respectively. Caracaro, second behind Tiz the Law in the Travers, joins the top 10 for the first time with 71 points. There was relatively little movement in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll as multiple Grade 1-winner Vekoma earned 13 first-place votes and 312 points to maintain the lead position for a second week. Fellow top-level winner Tom's d'Etat (3 first-place votes, 271 points) holds in second followed by Grade 1 Whitney Stakes-winner Improbable (5 first-place votes, 268 points) in third. Champion Maximum Security (5 first-place votes, 239 points) maintains the fourth spot with fellow Eclipse Award-winner Midnight Bisou (228 points) in fifth. Tiz the Law (12 first-place votes, 215 points) moved up two spots to sixth followed by champion Monomoy Girl with 1 first-place vote and 115 points. Zulu Alpha (113 points) ranks eighth while By My Standards (96) and Gamine (42) round out the top 10. 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 Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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Ny Traffic’s Haskell Second Leads To Jump In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

Authentic's victory in the Grade 1 Haskell Stakes allowed him to hold his ground on the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll, but it was race runner-up Ny Traffic who gained heightened regard among voters.

In earning his first career top-level triumph on July 18, Authentic kept himself among the leading Kentucky Derby contenders and remained in the third position on the poll with 280 points. The son of Into Mischief improved his record to four wins from five career starts as he trails only Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law (38 first-place votes, 389 points) and Grade 1 Santa Anita Derby victor Honor A. P. (1 first-place vote, 345 points) in the rankings.

Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes winner Art Collector (248 points) and Los Alamitos Derby victor Uncle Chuck (135) sit fourth and fifth, respectively, on the poll with the only newcomer to the top 10 being the aforementioned Ny Traffic, who jumps from 18th up to sixth with 124 points. Trained by Saffie Joseph Jr., Ny Traffic rallied late and was beaten just a nose by Authentic in the Haskell, his third consecutive runner-up outing. Ny Traffic had previously finished second in the Grade 3 Matt Winn Stakes and Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and was also third in the Grade 2 Risen Star Stakes.

King Guillermo, winner of the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby, ranks seventh with 113 points followed by Dr Post (103 points), the third-place finisher in the Haskell. Leading sophomore fillies Gamine (101 points) and Swiss Skydiver (96) complete the top 10.

There was little change in this week's NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with champion distaffer Midnight Bisou racking up 23 first-place votes and 359 points to maintain the No. 1 spot for another week. Stephen Foster Stakes winner Tom's d'Etat (7 first-place votes, 323 points) is second with multiple Grade 1-winner Vekoma (2 first-place votes, 293 points) holding in third.

Zulu Alpha (156 points) moves up to fourth just ahead of Monomoy Girl, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, in fifth with 1 first-place vote and 146 points. By My Standards (135 points) and Mucho Gusto (131) rank sixth and seventh followed by Tiz the Law (2 first-place votes, 112 points), who continues his run as the lone sophomore in the Top Thoroughbred Poll.

Code of Honor (1 first-place vote, 90 points) and Maximum Security (3 first-place votes, 88 points) round out the top 10.

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 Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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‘Whole Package’ Art Collector Jumps To Fourth In NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll

The story of Art Collector in his first two starts of 2020 was one of quiet progression with the son Bernardini winning both efforts against allowance optional claiming company. In the aftermath of the colt's 3 ½-length victory in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on July 11, Art Collector is anything but under the radar as evidenced by his climb up the ranks in the latest National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top 3-Year-Old Poll.

On the strength of earning his first career graded stakes triumph, Art Collector earned 242 points from voters to move into the No. 4 position on the poll after previously being ranked 28th. The Tom Drury, Jr. trainee is now unbeaten in three starts during his sophomore campaign after beginning his career on the turf during his juvenile season.

“He's very versatile, very classy. He's just the whole package,” said Drury, who celebrated the first graded stakes win of his career with Art Collector's Blue Grass triumph.

Art Collector was the only new presence in the top 10 of the Three-Year-Old Poll this week. Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law continues his hold on the lead position with 39 first-place votes and 399 points as he readies for an expected run in the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on August 8.

Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P. (1 first-place vote, 357 points) remains in second followed by graded-stakes winner Authentic (244 points), who is expected to be among the favorites for the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational on July 18.

Belmont Stakes runner-up Dr Post, who is also expected to contest the Haskell Invitational, sits fifth behind Art Collector with 180 points while King Guillermo (148 points) ranks sixth. Uncle Chuck, winner of the Grade 3 Los Alamitos Derby on July 4, is seventh with 118 points followed by Blue Grass Stakes runner-up Swiss Skydiver (110 points). Grade 1 Acorn Stakes winner Gamine (108 points) is ninth with Max Player (60) completing the top 10.

Champion Midnight Bisou, who returned to the worktab on Monday for the first time since her victory in the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis Stakes on June 27, spends yet another week atop the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll with 22 first-place votes and 369 points. Grade 1-winner Tom's d'Etat (9 first-place votes, 334 points) is second with Met Mile hero Vekoma (2 first-place votes, 294 points) holding down the third spot.

Monomoy Girl, the champion 3-year-old filly of 2018, jumped up to the fourth position with 1 first-place vote and 142 points in the wake of her victory in the Grade 2 Ruffian Stakes this past Saturday. Zulu Alpha (134 points) moves up to fifth on the heels of his win in the Grade 2 Elkhorn Stakes followed by Mucho Gusto (133) and By My Standards (130).

Tiz the Law remains the lone sophomore in the Top Thoroughbred Poll with 2 first-place votes and 118 points to sit eighth while Code of Honor (1 first-place vote, 98 points) and Maximum Security (3 first-place votes, 95 points) complete the top 10.

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 Three-Year-Old Poll and the Top Thoroughbred Poll is scheduled to be conducted through the conclusion of the Breeders' Cup in November.

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Belmont Stakes Winner Tiz The Law Takes NTRA Top 3-Year-Old Poll By A Landslide

At the conclusion of the 152nd Belmont Stakes on June 20, Sackatoga Stable's Tiz the Law left no doubt who wields the balance of power in the sophomore male division when he cruised to the finish line 3 ¾-lengths in front. On Monday, the son of Constitution was reaffirmed as the one his classmates will have to try and catch when he earned 38 first-place votes and 389 points to lead the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) Top Three-Year-Old Poll.

The only other horse to earn a first-place vote in the poll was Santa Anita Derby winner Honor A. P., who was ranked No. 1 on a single ballot and sits second overall with 348 points. In capturing the $1 million Belmont Stakes, which led off the Triple Crown for the first time in history due to the Kentucky Derby being rescheduled for September 5 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, Tiz the Law bolstered his record to five wins from six career starts including a 3-for-3 mark this season.

Trained by Barclay Tagg, Tiz the Law opened his 2020 campaign with a victory in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes on February 1 and followed that up with a win in Grade 1 Florida Derby on March 28 prior to his Belmont Stakes run.

Plans for Tiz the Law's next race – the Grade 1 Travers Stakes on August 8 – are already underway.

“I've never won the Travers and I want to win it,” Tagg told the NYRA publicity team. “It's very important to me.”

There was no change in the top three this week as multiple graded-stakes winner Authentic remained third with 256 points. There were, however, four newcomers to the top 10 led by Belmont Stakes runner-up Dr Post, who landed in fourth overall with 204 points. Dr Post was making his fourth career start and first try against graded stakes company in the 1 1/8-miles Belmont.

King Guillermo (191 points) held in fifth followed by the filly Gamine, who captured the Grade 1 Acorn by a dazzling 18 ¾ lengths in stakes-record time. Previously ranked outside the top 30, Gamine garnered 135 points this week to jump up to the sixth position.

Grade 1-winner Charlatan (107 points) is seventh while Max Player, the third-place finisher in the Belmont Stakes, joins the top 10 in eighth. Maxfield (68 points) drops to ninth, just ahead of the multiple graded-stakes winning filly Swiss Skydiver (67), who moves up one spot to complete the top 10.

Midnight Bisou, the reigning champion older dirt female, continues to hold her lead in the NTRA Top Thoroughbred Poll ahead of her expected run in Saturday's 45th running of the Grade 2 Fleur de Lis at Churchill Downs. Midnight Bisou earned 25 first-place votes and 361 points as she readies for her first start since finishing second in the Saudi Cup on February 29.

By My Standards (1 first-place vote, 248 points) ranks second followed by Mucho Gusto (244 points) and Code of Honor (4 first-place votes, 205 points). Tom's d'Etat (148 points) holds in fifth as he prepares to meet By My Standards, among others, in the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on Saturday.

Zulu Alpha (130 points) and Vekoma (121) rank sixth and seventh, respectively, with Tiz the Law earning 5 first-place votes and 117 points to join the Top Thoroughbred Poll in the eighth spot. Improbable (91 points) and Maximum Security (4 first-place votes, 87 points) round out the top 10.

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.

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