Tiz The Law Wins First Leg Of Triple Crown

NEW YORK (AP) – Tiz the Law has won an unprecedented Belmont Stakes, claiming victory Saturday at the first race of a rejiggered Triple Crown schedule and crossing the finish line in front of eerily empty grandstands. The 3-year-old colt from upstate New York charged to the lead turning to the front stretch and now can set his sights on the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby and Oct. 3 Preakness. All three legs of this year’s Triple Crown schedule were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Belmont, usually the series capper, was initially scheduled for June 6. Tiz the Law gave New York a hometown champion in its first major sporting event since the coronavirus pandemic seized the area. He’s the first New York-bred horse to win the Belmont since Forrester in 1882. This Belmont States was unlike any of the 151 that preceded it. The Long Island track can pack in nearly 100,000, but this race only had about 100 on hand, including jockeys, media and park staff. Masks were mandated for all but the horses – even the jockeys wore face coverings.