Tiz the Law found one too good in his bid to justify favouritism in the 146th running of the Kentucky Derby, with Authentic prevailing after his duel with the Belmont Stakes winner amid a heavy police presence at Churchill Downs.
A record crowd of 170,513 turned up in 2015 to witness American Pharoah become the 12th US Triple Crown winner and the first to manage the feat since Affirmed in 1978.
However, in the era of pandemic, attendance was limited to racing's equine and human bluebloods. Owners were admitted, but paying spectators were excluded on an afternoon when Louisville's famed mint juleps failed to flow and the betting windows remained shut.
Saturday was the 101st consecutive day of protests in the city since the death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot by Louisville Metro Police Department officers in March.
The protestors and counter-protestors included Black Lives Matter activists and two militia groups from rather different ends of the political spectrum.
A group of armed and self-proclaimed "patriots" assembled after answering the rallying cry of Dylan Stevens, who goes by the moniker of the Angry Viking, while Grandmaster Jay ( John Fitzgerald Johnson) had sent the Not F***ing Around Coalition (NFAC) to the city. Grandmaster Jay advocates for an armed response from the black community to white supremacists. It was evident early in the afternoon that Derby day still draws a crowd to Louisville.
Temporary fences have always been a feature of the exterior of Churchill Downs for the biggest day in their calendar to aid crowd control, but the barricades were more robust this year.
Police were backed up by members of the National Guard to protect the privileged few who made it through the gates, while demonstrators on the other side of the barriers circled the perimeter and chanted as the bell rang and the field broke from the starting gates for the feature.
A plane circled overhead, carrying a banner which read: "Arrest the cops who killed Breonna Taylor."
Tradition dictates that My Old Kentucky Home is sung as the runners make their way to post ahead of the Run for the Roses, but officials at the track made a few compromises, keen not to tarnish the race's reputation by adding to the division in the city.
Stephen Foster composed the song that became the state anthem during the antebellum period and it's had a complicated and increasingly controversial history. Many abolitionists championed the song for what they felt promoted an anti-slavery message, but it in time became a staple for blackface minstrels to perform.
This year's rendition was solemn in nature, played by a lone bugler and preceded by what racetrack officials described as "a moment of silence and reflection".
Tiz the Law arrived here having suffered the only defeat of his seven-race career on his one previous visit to Churchill Downs in November. The loss came on the only occasion he raced in sloppy conditions, but he's been faultless since, winning the Travers Stakes at Saratoga last month in impressive fashion.
A fast surface under the fabled twin spires was going to prove more to his liking, but his draw out wide in stall 17 was a cause for concern, with only Authentic posted wider.
There was drama right before the off, when trainer Bob Baffert's Thousand Words flipped over in the paddock, with the incident leading to a broken arm for Baffert's assistant Jimmy Barnes.
A Thousand Words what this horse was thinking?
— Uncle Bill 🌎 (@UBtalkin) September 5, 2020
Assistant to Bob Baffert Jimmy Barnes, falls and breaks his hand after horse rears in paddock!
Hopefully both will be ok! #KyDerby #KentuckyDerby2020 @bc_news_addict @Canuck289 @TweepCrew @MarshaCollier @JackWagner54 pic.twitter.com/jpiRusOK4j
The horse was uninjured but was scratched from the race, reducing the field to 15 runners.
Tiz the Law broke with alacrity when the stalls opened, unlike Authentic, who ran into the back of his rival in the opening strides. But John Velazquez soon had his mount in a prominent position and they led as they passed the post for the first time, clocking a sharp 22.92 seconds for the opening two furlongs of the 10-furlong affair. Storm The Court and Ny Court stalked the leader as Tiz the Law and Manny Franco sat fourth.
The half-mile went in 46.41 and Authentic clocked 1:10.23 for the first six furlongs as the order up front remained unchanged.
Franco made his move on the favourite on the far turn, eyeballing Authentic as they hit the mile in 1:35.02, with Storm The Court and Ny Court left toiling in their wake.
Many would have anticipated the longtime leader folding after those early exertions at the head of the field, but he kept finding more for pressure on the stretch run, drawing a length and a quarter clear at the the line to score at 84-10 in a time of 2:00.61, making it the fastest Derby run since the victory of Monarchos in 2001 and the seventh-fastest ever. Tiz the Law (7-10F) had two lengths to spare over closer Mr Big News (47-1) in third.
The naked eye suggested that both placed horses had taken more circuitous routes than the winner, which was backed up by Trakus data from the wireless tags fitted in the runners' saddlecloths. Tiz the Law and Mr Big News both ran 23 feet more than Authentic.
What a race!!
— Kentucky Derby (@KentuckyDerby) September 5, 2020
Watch the 146th running of the #KyDerby👇👇👇👇 pic.twitter.com/PE3CNSzKFG
Winning rider Velazquez (5ft 6in) and runner-up Franco (5ft 1in) both hail from the same city in Puerto Rico, with Carolina also known as La Tierra de Gigantes (The Land of Giants).
"It's always a concern that you let the horse do too much early in the race," Velazquez said afterwards.
"You like to save ground and save some horse for the end. Bob was pretty certain the horse was ready today.
The victory was a third in the race for Velazquez and a record-equalling sixth for Baffert, but whether or not the Hall of Fame trainer has enhanced his reputation is another matter. It's been a troubling few months for the 67-year-old, who was handed a 15-day ban by the Arkansas Racing Commission after two of his winners tested positive for a banned substance. An appeal will follow, with Baffert contending that lidocaine had been accidentally administered, but the New York Times reported the cases as being the 26th and 27th drugs violations of his training career.
After the antics of Thousand Words pre-race, the quirky Authentic (he wears those earplugs for a reason) thought he'd wreak some havoc of his own, spinning around and knocking Baffert to the ground in the winners' circle.
"He spun around and he was like a bowling ball," the trainer said. "He just spun us all around.
"The turf course is pretty soft here, so it wasn't too bad. I was probably more embarrassed than anything when I hit the ground."
It's been a year with more downs than ups for most, even Kentucky Derby winners.
Bob Baffert discusses his tumble in the winner's circle after Authentic knocked him down. @WLKY pic.twitter.com/vyLy3L4s5A
— Andrew Chernoff - WLKY (@ADChernoff) September 6, 2020
