Authentic Wins Derby from Outside Post; Favored Tiz the Law Finishes Second

HRFLA Staff Report

Authentic, breaking from the far outside post 18, was gunned to the lead and he went on to beat the 3-5 favorite Tiz the Law by 1 1/4 lengths in Saturday's $3 million Kentucky Derby (Grade 1).

Authentic won the 1 1/4 mile dirt stakes in the very fast time of 2:00.61 on the track listed as Fast.  He was the 8-1 third betting choice in the 15-horse field  at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky.

John Velazquez rode Authentic for trainer Bob Baffert, who gained his record-tying sixth Kentucky Derby win. The late Ben Jones also trained six Kentucky Derby winners.

Mr. Big News, at 46-1, rallied to finish third and Honor A.P. at 6-1 came in fourth.

Until the far turn, Ny Traffic was in second place and usually about a length behind Authentic, and Tiz the Law was third. Ny Traffic wound up eighth.

Tiz the Law appeared to be gaining in mid-stretch, but Authentic kept rolling and edged away for the victory.

Winning mutuel prices included $41.00 for the 18-17 $2 exacta, $655,90 for the 18-17-9  50-cent Trifecta and $792.58 for the 18-17-9-16 10-cent superfecta. 

The win, place and show payoffs on $2 bets on Authentic were $18.80, $6.00 and $5.00.

Because of COVID-19  precautions, all of Saturday's races at Churchill Downs were run without spectators--except for horse owners and  track and industry personnel.

The win was the fifth in six career starts for Authentic, a Kentucky-bred son of Into Mischief. He is part of Baffert's California-based stable and has never raced in Florida. Authentic is owned by a partnership headed by Spendthrift Farm.

Tiz the Law won this year's Belmont Stakes (Grade 1), run first among the Triple Crown races amid this year's schedule changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Preakness (Grade 1) will be run at Pimlico in Baltimore on Oct. 3.

The Kentucky Derby was just the second loss in eight career starts for Tiz the Law. Last November, he finished third in the Kentucky Jockey Club (Grade 2) on a sloppy track at Churchill Downs.

This year, he also won the Holy Bull (Grade 3) and Florida Derby (Grade 1) at Gulfstream Park and the Travers (Grade 1) at Saratoga.

Regular jockey Manuel Franco rode Tiz the Law on Saturday for trainer Barclay Tagg and owner Sackatoga Stable.