Kentucky Derby - the road takes a detour - impact of the delayed Derby - horse preparations

By Bill Heller

The “Road to the Kentucky Derby” takes a detourBy Bill HellerWho could have imagined that the road to the Kentucky Derby would have a detour? Or that the order of the Triple Crown Classics would be reshuffled? Or that major stakes would be contested without fans? Or that two undefeated colts who might have been vying for favoritism in the Derby would be injured and one retired?The first Saturday in May, the Run for the Roses in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, became the first Saturday in September—September 5. That will be the second leg of the Triple Crown, not the usual first.The Preakness Stakes, regularly the second leg of the Triple Crown, was rescheduled for October 3 as the final leg of the Triple Crown.And the Belmont Stakes, reduced from a mile-and-a-half to a mile and-an-eighth, will begin the Triple Crown instead of ending it on June 20.Horses who had already earned enough points to start for the Kentucky Derby may now be joined by late-developing three-year-olds arriving on the scene. The top 20 point leaders to get into the Derby on the original date for the Kentucky Derby (May 4) could look much different than the top 20, four months later.It’s never been more challenging for trainers entrusted with the difficult goal of getting their horses to peak on the first Saturday of May than being able to do the same four months later.“I’m just glad they’re having the Triple Crown,” Baffert said. “They could have canceled them all.”Now? “Everybody out there is in the same boat,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. Tagg’s boat carries his outstanding three-year-old Tiz the Law, whose four-for-five record stamps him as one of the Kentucky Derby’s major contenders. “Of all the horses out there, Tiz the Law is right there with my guys,” Baffert said in late May before fate intervened. At the time, his guys were three undefeated colts: Nadal, Charlatan and Authentic.Unfortunately, after working a half-mile at Santa Anita on May 28, Nadal suffered a colyndar fracture of his left front knee. Surgery was done and two screws were inserted, and Nadal was retired and will be able to impact future generations of Thoroughbreds as a stallion. Then Charlatan suffered an ankle injury which means he’ll miss the Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby. Finally, Authentic finished second to Honor A.P. in the Santa Anita Derby on June 6th.That left Tiz the Law as a likely heavy favorite in the Belmont Stakes, and, if he wins, clearly the horse to beat in the Kentucky Derby. His top threat could be Honor A.P., who impressed winning the Santa Anita Derby for trainer John Shirreffs.Churchill Downs reopened without fans on May 14. Santa Anita, where Baffert is based, began spectator-less racing the very next day. “The whole world is going through this,” Baffert said. “I’m just thankful that Los Angeles County let us open back up. It’s the safest environment. We keep the barns disinfected. We don’t want viruses spreading from barn to barn. Everybody is wearing masks. We treat it very seriously. What I was worried about was the backstretch workers. I’m responsible for a lot of families back there. If we didn’t open up, there wouldn’t have been jobs for them. I kept people on that had worked for me.”Tagg had a heck of a problem just figuring out when he could ship Tiz the Law from his barn at Palm Meadows to his barn at Belmont Park, which will begin spectator-free racing on June 3 after a planned opening day on April 24. “I made a couple calls to New York and I asked, `Should we stay in Florida longer? There’s somebody in my barn in New York,’” Tagg said. “They said they’ll get back to me. They called me back. They said it looks like this: we’ll have the horses out of your barn in a day and a half, and then you can move in. Three weeks later, I called the guy in my barn in New York, and he said, `I’m still here. And so are my horses.’”Finally, Belmont Park got the clearance to announce it would reopen on June 3 and that the Belmont Stakes would be held June 20 at a shorter distance. “They shortened the distance of the Belmont,” Tagg said. “How is it still a Classic if they shorten the distance?”But really, there will be asterisks for all the legs of this year’s Triple Crown, especially if one horse sweeps all three. “If a horse wins the first two, if there is a horse going for the Triple Crown, it’ll be great for the Preakness,” Baffert said.But he’s not thinking that far away. “I don’t think I have to think about it now,” he said. “Every day things change. These are very challenging times right now. You have to be able to change paths.”He had no idea how many path changes were coming up for his Derby contenders.Churchill Downs did trainers and racetracks a favor by quickly announcing the new date for the Kentucky Derby four months after the original date. That allowed Pimlico and Belmont Park—once they were okayed to reopen by their respective states—to chart a new course for the rest of the Triple Crown.That didn’t mean it was easy. “It’s a little frustrating when you can’t make plans for a horse,” Tagg said. “It takes a lot to get a horse ready for a big race. We try to keep them 99 percent fit and wait. We work him (Tiz the Law) once a week, sometimes stretch him out a little longer. We like to keep him stable. He’s fine. He does whatever you ask him. We get up every morning around four and do the same thing. We do that seven days a week.”Tiz the Law (122) and Honor A.P. (120) had already earned their ticket into the Derby, as has Wells Bayou (104) and Authentic (100), King Guillermo, the runaway Tampa Bay Derby winner who was second to Nadal in the Arkansas Derby, will skip the Belmont Stakes. His 90 points should get him into the Kentucky Derby. Authentic had 60 heading into the Santa Anita Derby.How important are the points relative to performance in the Kentucky Derby? In 2013 and 2014, the Derby winners, Orb and California Chrome, were both No. 1, though Orb was tied for the top spot with Verrazano. Triple Crown Champion American Pharoah was fourth in 2015. In 2016, Nyquist was second to Gun Runner. Always Dreaming, the 2017 winner, was tied for sixth. Triple Crown Champion Justify was tied for eighth in 2018. Last year, Country House was tied for 15th and Maximum Security, the Derby winner who was disqualified, was tied for third.This year’s Top 20, in points through June 6 were: Tiz the Law (122), Honor A.P. (120), Wells Bayou (105), Authentic (100), King Guillermo (90), Ete Indian (74), Modernist (70), Ny Traffic (70), Maxfield (60), Basin (50), Mischievous Alex (50), Shivaree (40), Gouverneur Morris (34), Enforceable (33), Storm the Court (32), Sole Volante (30), Major Fed (30), Thousand Words (25) Fennick the Fierce (25) and Anneau d’Or (22)..Churchill Downs designated a dozen stakes after the original May 4 date for points for the top four finishers.The first was the Matt Win at Churchill Downs on May 23 with points of 50-20-10-5. The Santa Anita Derby on June 6 offered 100-40-20-10. The rest are:June 20, $1,000,000 Belmont Stakes (Gr.1), 1 1/8 miles, Belmont Park, 150-60-30-15June 27, $500,000 Ohio Derby (Gr. 3), 1 1/8 miles, Thistledown, 20-8-4-2July 4, $150,000 Los Alamitos Derby (Gr. 3), 1 1/8 miles, Del Mar, 20-8-4-2July 8, $300,000 Indiana Derby (Gr. 3), 1 1/8 miles, Indiana Grand, 20-8-4-2July 11, $600,000 Blue Grass (Gr. 2), 1 1/8 miles, Keeneland, 100-40-20-10July 18, $1,000,000 Haskell (Gr.1), 1 1/8 miles, Monmouth Park, 100-40-20-10Aug. 1, $100,000 Shared Belief, 1 1/16 miles, Del Mar, 50-20-10-5Aug. 15, $150,000 Pegasus, 1 1/16 miles, Monmouth Park, 20-8-2-1The Ellis Park Derby (50-20-10-5) and stakes races at Saratoga Race Course will be added to the series once their stakes schedules are finalized.“I really think there will be new horses in the Kentucky Derby,” Baffert said. “The new points are going to help a lot of other horses.”It already has.In the Matt Winn, undefeated Maxfield, who hadn’t raced since taking the Gr1 Breeders Futurity at Keeneland by 5 ½ lengths last October 5, upped his record to three-for-three for trainer Brendan Walsh with an impressive, wide-trip win by one length under Jose Ortiz. Maxfield was scratched three days before last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile because of a bone chip in his right front ankle which required minor surgery.“We were really anxious to see this one,” Walsh said. “It’s good to see him come back and see if he’s as good, if not better, than when he was a two-year-old.”Going into the Matt Winn, Maxfield was 33rd in points with 10. Now he has 60 points and tied for eighth.His outstanding performance forced his connections into a difficult decision. Do they run back in four weeks to take on Charlatan and Tiz the Law in the Belmont Stakes—thus ensuring a chance for a Triple Crown—or make an easier next start and concentrate on getting to the Kentucky Derby?By finishing second in the Matt Winn, Ny Traffic, who had been tied for 10th with 50 points, is now 7th with 70 points.Could a horse who hasn’t even started make it into the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby? Baffert could have one such horse—the $3.65 million two-year-old purchase Cezanne. “He looks really, really good,” Baffert said. Cezanne won his career debut at Santa Anita by two lengths June 6 could be fast-tracked for the Kentucky Derby. Certainly, Honor A,P., who earned 100 qualifying points by winning the Santa Anita Derby, will be there, too.Likely when the three-year-olds do finally run in the Kentucky Derby, there will be no fans, and possibly, no owners. “It’s tough,” Baffert said. “My wife and my son can’t go to the track. I’m the only one who can go. It’s difficult for them. We live for the horses. I think it’s hard on their owners because they can’t see them run. They own them because they have passion. They want to be there. You want to be up close, see them, smell them. You’re not getting the full effect of it. It’s eerie, watching horses come down the stretch, because there’s nobody there.”Unfortunately, for everyone, this is the new normal. That it includes the Triple Crown is joyous, no matter how many asterisks it takes.

Who could have imagined that the road to the Kentucky Derby would have a detour? Or that the order of the Triple Crown Classics would be reshuffled? Or that major stakes would be contested without fans? Or that three undefeated colts who might have been vying for favoritism in the Derby would be injured or retired? 

The first Saturday in May, the Run for the Roses in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs, became the first Saturday in September—September 5. That will be the second  leg of the Triple Crown, not the usual first.

The Preakness Stakes, regularly the second leg of the Triple Crown, was rescheduled for October 3 as the final leg of the Triple Crown.

And the Belmont Stakes, reduced from a mile-and-a-half to a mile and-an-eighth, will begin the Triple Crown instead of ending it on June 20.

Horses who had already earned enough points to start for the Kentucky Derby may now be joined by late-developing three-year-olds arriving on the scene. The top 20 point leaders to get into the Derby on the original date for the Kentucky Derby (May 4) could look much different than the top 20, four months later.   

It’s never been more challenging for trainers entrusted with the difficult goal of getting their horses to peak on the first Saturday of May than being able to do the same four months later.

Barclay Tagg

Barclay Tagg

“I’m just glad they’re having the Triple Crown,” Baffert said. “They could have canceled them all.”

Now? “Everybody out there is in the same boat,” trainer Barclay Tagg said. Tagg’s boat carries his outstanding three-year-old Tiz the Law, whose four-for-five record stamps him as one of the Kentucky Derby’s major contenders. “Of all the horses out there, Tiz the Law is right there with my guys,” Baffert said in late May before fate intervened. At the time, his guys were three undefeated colts: Nadal, Charlatan and Authentic.

Unfortunately, after working a half-mile at Santa Anita on May 28, Nadal suffered a colyndar fracture of his left front knee. Surgery was done and two screws were inserted, and Nadal was retired and will be able to impact future generations of Thoroughbreds as a stallion. Then Charlatan suffered an ankle injury which means he’ll miss the Belmont Stakes and Kentucky Derby. Finally, Authentic finished second to Honor A.P. in the Santa Anita Derby on June 6th. 

Tiz the Law

Tiz the Law

That left Tiz the Law as a likely heavy favorite in the Belmont Stakes, and, if he wins, clearly the horse to beat in the Kentucky Derby. His top threat could be Honor A.P., who impressed winning the Santa Anita Derby for trainer John Shirreffs.

Churchill Downs reopened without fans on May 14. Santa Anita, where Baffert is based, began spectator-less racing the very next day. “The whole world is going through this,” Baffert said. “I’m just thankful that Los Angeles County let us open back up. It’s the safest environment. We keep the barns disinfected. We don’t want viruses spreading from barn to barn. Everybody is wearing masks. We treat it very seriously. What I was worried about was the backstretch workers. I’m responsible for a lot of families back there. If we didn’t open up, there wouldn’t have been jobs for them. I kept people on that had worked for me.”

Tagg had a heck of a problem just figuring out when he could ship Tiz the Law from his barn at Palm Meadows to his barn at Belmont Park, which will begin spectator-free racing on June 3 after a planned opening day on April 24. “I made a couple calls to New York and I asked, `Should we stay in Florida longer? There’s somebody in my barn in New York,’” Tagg said. “They said they’ll get back to me. They called me back. They said it looks like this: we’ll have the horses out of your barn in a day and a half, and then you can move in. Three weeks later, I called the guy in my barn in New York, and he said, `I’m still here. And so are my horses.’”

Finally, Belmont Park got the clearance to announce it would reopen on June 3 and that the Belmont Stakes would be held June 20 at a shorter distance. “They shortened the distance of the Belmont,” Tagg said. “How is it still a Classic if they shorten the distance?”

Maxfield wins the Matt Winn for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Maxfield wins the Matt Winn for trainer Brendan Walsh.

But really, there will be asterisks for all the legs of this year’s Triple Crown, especially if one horse sweeps all three. “If a horse wins the first two, if there is a horse going for the Triple Crown, it’ll be great for the Preakness,” Baffert said.

But he’s not thinking that far away. “I don’t think I have to think about it now,” he said. “Every day things change. These are very challenging times right now. You have to be able to change paths.”

He had no idea how many path changes were coming up for his Derby contenders. …

Nadal beats King Guillermo in the 2020 Arkansas Derby.

Nadal beats King Guillermo in the 2020 Arkansas Derby.

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