Horse racing has started to make a return in the United States, and this weekend saw one of the three Triple Crown events. The Belmont Stakes were held on Saturday afternoon in New York, and the horse with the best odds came away with the victory.
Tiz the Law had been the betting favorite since odds were released, and the odds continued to grow in his favor leading up to the event. Even though this was a Belmont Stakes race unlike any other, it will give Tiz the Law the chance to win the Triple Crown with two more wins.
The Belmont Stakes is not usually the first of the three Triple Crown events, but the coronavirus pandemic has shifted the horse racing calendar. The Kentucky Derby will now be held on Sept. 5, and the Preakness Stakes will be held on Oct. 3.
Belmont is usually the final leg of the Triple Crown, and it is considered a difficult race to win. The Belmont Stakes was originally slated for June 6, but the event was pushed back two weeks.
Tiz the Law is a three-year-old Colt from upstate New York, and the horse looked comfortable on the track at Belmont. Tiz the Law charged to the front of the pack as the horses turned for home, and is now just two wins away from the prestigious Triple Crown.
This is the first time that a horse bred in the state of New York won the Belmont Stakes since 1882. Forrester was the last New York-bred horse to accomplish the feat, although there have been several others come up just short in previous years.
Tiz the Law won by 3 3/4 lengths, finishing with a time of 1:46.53. Dr. Post finished the race in second place, and Max Player came in third.
The Belmont Stakes is normally a 1 1/2 mile race, but the event was shortened because horses have not had time to build up to that distance. The event was shortened to 1 1/8 miles this year, and the horses started the race in the backstretch rather than right in front of the grandstand.
There are usually more than 100,000 spectators at the Belmont Stakes, but this year there were less than 100 people inside the race track. Belmont Park has been closed since March, and there were strict health and safety precautions in place for this event.
Normally, there is plenty of betting taking place at Belmont Park on race days, but that was not the case on Saturday. Signs outside of the park notified customers that all betting must be done through a mobile app that was free to download.
Manny Franco, 25, was the jockey riding Tiz the Law, and he earned a victory in his first-ever running at the Belmont Stakes.
Sportsbooks Welcome Return of Horse Racing
Sportsbooks have been hit hard by the shutdown of live sports in the United States, and they were looking forward to the Belmont Stakes. The three legs of the Triple Crown always bring in plenty of betting action, and that was expected to be the case again in 2020.
Circa Sports is one of the sportsbooks that was taking advantage of the return of live horse racing events. Circa Sports unveiled 11 head-to-head bets for the Belmont Stakes, but those bets were only available to residents in Nevada.
Tiz the Law was featured in just one of these head-to-head bets, and he was an overwhelming favorite to win that bet. Jungle Runner was listed as a huge underdog at +8000 at Circa Sports, and that horse finished the race in last place.
