Renowned equine artist Greg Montgomery and the connections of 2020 Travers Stakes winner Tiz the Law — jockey Manny Franco, trainer Barclay Tagg, and Sackatoga Stable operating manager Jack Knowlton — will sign copies of Montgomery's 2021 Travers Stakes poster on Tuesday, Aug. 24 at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. This year's poster, which is the 36th in Montgomery's iconic series honoring the Travers, features Tiz the Law winning the 151st edition of the Midsummer Derby. Posters will be available for purchase for $50.
Exactly one year after winning his career debut at Saratoga Race Course, Tiz the Law returned to the famous Spa oval with a 5½-length victory in the 2020 Travers with Franco in the irons. The New York-bred son of Constitution entered the Travers following victories in the Belmont Stakes, Florida Derby, and Holy Bull Stakes. Tiz the Law was retired earlier this year with a career record of 6-1-1 from nine starts and earnings of $2,735,300. He is now a stallion at Coolmore America in Kentucky.
Franco, who currently ranks No. 9 among North American jockeys with earnings of more than $8.8 million this year, has won 1,556 races in a career that began in 2013. Along with the Travers and Belmont, his top victories include the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Diana Stakes, Sword Dancer, Jockey Club Gold Cup, Fourstardave Handicap, Frizette Stakes, and Vosburgh Stakes, among others.
Tagg has won 1,595 races in his distinguished career, including all three Triple Crown events. He won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with Sackatoga's champion Funny Cide in 2003 and completed his career sweep of the American Classics when Tiz the Law won the Belmont in 2020. Along with Funny Cide and Tiz the Law, Tagg has trained millionaires Showing Up, Nobiz Like Shobiz, and Tale of Ekati.
Knowlton has served as Sackatoga's operating manager since 1995. He has also contributed to the thoroughbred racing community in New York and nationally, serving as a member of the NTRA Jockey Insurance Working Group, as a member of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Future of Racing in New York State, and on New York State's Task Force on Retired Race Horses. He also played a leadership role in assisting the New York State Gaming Commission in organizing Aftercare Summits in Saratoga Springs in 2015 and 2016. Under Knowlton's leadership, Sackatoga Stable has consistently been a supporter of various aftercare organizations, including Old Friends at Cabin Creek and Equine Advocates.
Montgomery has been producing artwork associated with Saratoga Race Course's famed Travers Stakes since 1986. The annual Travers posters represent the longest continuing series of art featuring a single event by a single artist in racing history. Montgomery has worked as an art director for General Electric and Capital Region Magazine, as well as design editor for the Albany (N.Y.) Times Union. In 2008, he published the book “The History and Art of 25 Travers” along with writer Vic Zast. In 2015, his Travers series was featured in an exhibit at the National Museum of Racing, entitled Greg Montgomery: 30 years of the Travers.
Montgomery's Travers poster series has been inspired by the rich history of the Travers Stakes, the first race contested on Saratoga Race Course's opening day on Aug. 2, 1864. Named in honor of William R. Travers, the first president of the Saratoga Association, the inaugural Travers Stakes was won by future Hall of Fame member Kentucky, a horse Travers owned in partnership.
One of the most prestigious races in America, the Travers has been won by Thoroughbred immortals such as Hall of Famers Buckpasser, Damascus, Easy Goer, Eight Thirty, Hindoo, Holy Bull, Native Dancer, Man o' War, and Twenty Grand. A total of 24 Hall of Fame racehorses have won the Travers.
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