Tiz The Law | Horse Racing Free Tips

Is Enforceable Good Enough To Take This Derby Field? Casse Says We’ll Find Out

Trainer Mark Casse will saddle the big gray Enforceable in the Derby this afternoon wondering the same thing the rest of us are — is the son of Tapit good enough to face down Tiz the Law and the other standouts in this year's field?

“I don't know, honestly,” Casse told reporters early Friday. “We think we have a shot. Obviously we have a better shot than most because we're in the race. I know our horse is as good as he can get. Is he good enough? I don't know.”

Enforceable comes to the race off a fourth-place finish in the Grade 2 Blue Grass and a fifth in the G2 Louisiana Derby. Before that though, he was second in the G2 Risen Star and the G3 Lecomte.

The interruption of racing at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, which struck just before the running of the Louisiana Derby, provided some advantage to some of this year's Kentucky Derby entrants, and Casse said Enforceable is one of them.

“If we'd ran the Derby first Saturday in May, he would not have run,” he said. “He was a tired horse. We took him home and it took him two months to get back on his feet.”

When Enforceable was turned out at Casse's Ocala farm in the spring, he weighed 960 pounds. Now, he's over 1,100 pounds on a tall and lithe frame.

Certainly some of this week's defections have created disruption to Enforceable's running style, which relies on there being early speed in the race. Expect to see a slight departure in Enforceable's come-from-behind running style this afternoon, though — Casse said while he won't be the early pace, the loss of likely early leaders combined with Enforceable's level of condition now means he may be sharper than usual and a bit closer to the early pace. Casse is also anticipating there will be a bit of cat and mouse between Tiz the Law and Bob Baffert's runners, as either Baffert horse could be dangerous if allowed to run away with the early lead.

In the end, like many Derby trainers, Casse said he's just grateful to be going to the post this afternoon, even if the experience of the Derby is a little more quiet and surreal this year. The absence of the crowd also means he may not be relegated to squinting at the race on the television screens in the paddock, as per his usual habit.

“I'm just happy — there was a long time I didn't know if we'd have a Derby, so I'm just appreciative we are,” he said. “I'll probably get to see the race better than I've ever seen it…I may actually get to watch this one live.”

Thanks to the National Turfwriters and Broadcasters Association (NTWAB), which has assembled a group of pool reporters providing independent reporting to members unable to be on the Churchill Downs grounds this year due to COVID-19 restrictions.

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Fanticipate Launches With Tiz The Law Items For Auction To Benefit Charity

Fanticipate, an online marketplace that allows athletes, teams, and leagues to offer unique experiences and items for their fans to bid on before an event starts, launches its first auction for the 146^th annual Kentucky Derby.

Competitors (sellers) are officially verified through Fanticipate to provide unique and authentic items or experiences desired by the fans (buyers), who are competing to win the fan engagement of a lifetime. This process gives the seller the ability to increase fan loyalty, brand identity, and create a lasting relationship with their fans. Additionally, Fanticipate offers a platform for competitors to create a new revenue stream for themselves, their team, or their favorite charity, giving the competitor complete control over the proceeds. Since the auction takes place ahead of the event itself, fans who win the bid have the rare experience of watching their prized items being used in the event before taking a piece of the action home.

“Fanticipate is excited to launch our online marketplace just in time for the 146^th Kentucky Derby, so we can elevate the fan experience in new and novel ways,” said Jim Chiapetta, Co-Founder of Fanticipate. CEO and Co-Founder, Ed Blach, added, “Fanticipate gives fans who have an appetite to compete and be a part of the action, the ability to do so. During a time when there are fewer fans in the stands, this new form of engagement allows spectators to feel the excitement from home, and we look forward to building on this concept for all of our future events.”

Items available through the 146^th Kentucky Derby auction include:

Famed racehorse Tiz the Law's horseshoe
A Zoom call with Jack Knowlton, the Operating Manager of Sackatoga Stable
Halters worn by 2020 Kentucky Derby competitors and other history-making racehorses

Many of the current sellers will be giving back to the community and donating their proceeds to charities, such as Race for Grace and Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm. All items purchased at the auction have the potential to increase in value based on the outcome of the event, providing unique opportunities for fans to experience high-level events with newfound engagement and increased anticipation. While the Kentucky Derby is Fanticipate's current live auction, it is only the first of many sporting events that the company will feature, such as hockey and baseball.

For more information on Fanticipate or to view its live auctions, visit: www.fanticipate.com.

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Tiz The Law’s Only Loss Came At Churchill Downs, But Knowlton Says His Problem Wasn’t The Track

As Tiz the Law prepares to go to the post as the 3-5 favorite in tomorrow's Kentucky Derby, it's hard not to notice that his lone career loss came at Churchill Downs. If anything, Sackatoga Stables co-founder and operating manager Jack Knowlton says, he's feeling a little better about that this week.

“In many ways I think there's enough pressure now at the 3-5 favorite, but if you go into this race as an undefeated horse seven races in, that would be a little too much to bear,” Knowlton told media Thursday. “If you're going to lose one that was the one to lose.”

Knowlton referred to the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, in which Tiz the Law came third behind Silver Prospector and Finnick the Fierce. There was a lot going on for Tiz the Law in that race last November – he didn't break well and was stuck behind a slow pace, jammed in at the rail for most of the race.

“The jockeys here were race riding,” Knowlton. “They were doing what they were supposed to do, giving themselves the best chance to win.

“After the race, Manny Franco said it wasn't the track, it was the trip.”

Knowlton hopes that if anything, experiencing a trip that didn't go as planned has made the colt even tougher. It's safe to say most of this racing season has not gone as planned for horses or humans. One of many concerns for Tiz the Law's connections was the drawn-out nature of this year's road to the Derby, and whether he could remain in peak form long enough to make the Derby. Now, after a decisive Travers win and a Belmont Stakes victory, Knowlton thinks it's possible the longer timeframe makes Tiz the Law's accomplishments all the more impressive.

“Some people were concerned because it's only four weeks between the Travers and Kentucky Derby this year,” said Knowlton. “You look at the two works he had up at Saratoga and I think that question was answered. He's as sharp as he's ever been.”

If Tiz the Law is good enough to win both the Derby and the Preakness, Knowlton points out he will be just the second horse in Triple Crown history to win all three races plus the Travers. Whirlaway is the only one to manage it in 1941. Only American Pharoah and Affirmed have tried.

Having a good horse in this strange year has its drawbacks, though.

“Everything is different,” said Knowlton, who noted Sackatoga partners had to watch their G1 Florida Derby win from home. “It's frustrating to have a horse that's this kind of horse and turned into what he's turned into, and not be able to go to the race.”

In a small semblance of normalcy however, Knowlton said Funny Cide fans can again expect to see Sackatoga partners pouring out of a yellow school bus. In fact, to allow for social distancing, they're making the trip to Churchill in two of them.

The post Tiz The Law’s Only Loss Came At Churchill Downs, But Knowlton Says His Problem Wasn’t The Track appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The Haiku Handicapper Presented By BC2A Equine Sports Performance: 2020 Kentucky Derby

Time to analyze the 2020 Kentucky Derby field, in post position order, in the form of Haiku; a Japanese poem of 17 syllables, in three lines of five, seven, and five.

To read previous editions of The Haiku Handicapper, click here.

#2 – Max Player
Can't knock his hustle
Don't love the late-game barn change
Should gain some ground late

#3 – Enforceable
Looked good at Fair Grounds
But fell off the map quickly
Blue-blood would surprise

#4 – Storm the Court
How many horses
Finish third at Thistledown
Then win the Derby?

#5 – Major Fed
A fine Grade 3-type
Punching against heavyweights
Tricky assignment

#7 – Money Moves
One start in six months
An optional claimer loss
This guy's pocket change

#8 – South Bend
Which will be longer:
Touchdown Jesus's wingspan
Or lengths off winner?

#9 – Mr. Big News
First-class pedigree
Exit-row coach race record
Minor check at best

#10 – Thousand Words
His ship's been righted
Knocking around four-horse fields
What's his true level?

#11 – Necker Island
A wonderful claim
Who's lost to a lot of these
He'd be an upset

#12 – Sole Volante
Churchill plays turfy
Which might be his best surface
A player, if he's right

#13 – Attachment Rate
Has some wins in him
Don't reckon this'll be one
He'll grow up nicely

#14 – Winning Impression
A pair of sevenths
Never held back Dallas Stewart
From trying longshots

#15 – Ny Traffic
Loves to run second
Pack animal tendencies
Wait for a mile race

#16 – Honor A. P.
Mike Smith had options
This one got the final rose
Serious win threat

#17 – Tiz the Law
All that's left to do
Is avenge his Churchill loss
And he's a man now

#18 – Authentic
Nail-biting Haskell
Begs the question if he peaked
For the May Derby

Prediction
Long-awaited bout
“Law” staves off Honor A. P.
Twelve and two follow

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