2020 Kentucky Derby Recap and Preakness Stakes Preview

Major graded horse racing in the US takes a break this weekend. The biggest betting action for this Saturday’s card can be found in Ireland and throughout the UK. Coming off last Saturday’s thrilling Kentucky Derby, the next big race for three-year old Thoroughbreds is the Preakness Stakes on Saturday, Oct. 3.

Tiz the Law lost his bid for a Triple Crown run after winning the Belmont Stakes on June 20 as this year’s first Triple Crown event. With Authentic winning at Churchill Downs in his Kentucky Derby run, the question becomes can a third different horse win the third and final Triple Crown race?

2020 Kentucky Derby Recap

By the time the gates opened for this year’s Kentucky Derby, there were only 15 entries running as opposed to the traditional 20. Given Authentic’s impressive run to the finish line in that race, there was no other three-year old that could have beaten him that day.

What made his win even more special was breaking from the farthest outside post at No. 18. Veteran jockey John Velazquez did everything right to help secure the win. Trainer Bob Baffert has now won the Kentucky Derby a record-tying six times. This was the perfect team last Saturday to get the job done.

Authentic closed at 8/1 odds to pay $18.80 on the win bet. Tiz the Law finished second as a heavy 4/5 favorite. The show position was filled by Mr. Big News as a big 46/1 longshot. Another Baffert-trained entry, Thousand Words was a late scratch to lower the field to 15.

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The total betting handle for this year’s Kentucky Derby was more than 50 percent lower than last year’s race. The lack of fans in the stands at Churchill contributed to the decline. Another factor was Tiz the Law as a heavy favorite.

The total betting handle for the 2020 Kentucky Derby came in at $79.4 million. Last year’s handle set a Kentucky Derby record at $165.5 million.

2020 Preakness Stakes Preview

The final Triple Crown event of the year will be the Grade 1 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Track in Baltimore. This race covers 1 3/16 miles on the dirt. This will be the 145th running of this event.

There is a strong chance that Authentic will be in the field for this race. He has already been opened as a +150 favorite. Coming off an extremely strong run at Churchill, it is easy to see why this Kentucky-bred colt is at the top of the list. He has now won five of his first six career events. The son of Into Mischief took second in the Santa Anita Derby behind Honor A. P.

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Sports fans hoping to see a head-to-head rematch with Tiz the Law may have to wait for another race. He is listed as “unlikely” at Horse Racing Nation.

A few online books still have the Belmont Stakes’ winner listed as a +400 second-favorite but all indications point toward trainer Barclay Tagg passing on this race.

Also high on the Preakness futures list is Art Collector at +500. He did not run in the Kentucky Derby coming off a victory in the ungraded Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9. Trained by Thomas Drury Jr., his biggest career victory was in the Grade 2 Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland in early July.