SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – Seventeen years after winning the Kentucky Derby with the New York-bred gelding Funny Cide, who pulled off a 12-1 upset, trainer Barclay Tagg and Sackatoga Stable will be heading back to Churchill Downs with another New York-bred who will be a much shorter price in the world’s most famous horse race. Tiz the Law cemented his status as a prohibitive favorite for the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby with a dominant performance in Saturday’s Runhappy Travers Stakes at Saratoga, winning by 5 1/2 lengths and equaling the fourth-fastest time in the 151-year history of the race. His final time of 2:00.95 resulted in a career-best 109 Beyer Speed Figure and ties Easy Goer, who in 1989 ran 2:00 4/5 in an era when final times were not calculated in hundredths. Only Arrogate, General Assembly, and Honest Pleasure have run a faster 1 1/4 miles in the Travers. As impressed as most folks were with the performance, it was pretty much what his trainer, Barclay Tagg, was expecting. “I thought if this horse is what I think he is he should do this easily,” Tagg said Sunday morning. “I didn’t think he’d do it that easily.” :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more Tiz the Law, under Manny Franco, basically cruised up to and then past Uncle Chuck, the Bob Baffert-trained colt who came in with high expectations after winning both his starts. So quick was Tiz the Law to open up in the stretch that Franco took Tiz the Law in hand in the final sixteenth. “To see him finish like that I was very pleased,” Tagg said. Tiz the Law, a son of Constitution, is now 4 for 4 in 2020 with victories in the Belmont Stakes, Florida Derby, and Holy Bull. He has won each race by a minimum of three lengths with a turn of foot that puts him in front by the eighth pole without really trying. “He seems to terrorize the competition when he makes his move,” Tagg said. Tagg said Tiz the Law “looked fine” Sunday morning and he will remain in Saratoga to train until Aug. 31 when he flies to Louisville. Tagg said he will likely give the horse two workouts before the race. :: DRF's Saratoga headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more If there is anything left to prove for Tiz the Law it is that he can be as effective running back with a shorter amount of time between races. He’s had eight to 12 weeks between each of his first seven starts, winning six. He will have four weeks between the Travers and the Kentucky Derby. “I don’t think it’ll faze him at all, but who knows?” Tagg said. Churchill Downs also is the site of Tiz the Law’s only loss, a three-quarter-length defeat to Silver Prospector in the Kentucky Jockey Club. The track was sloppy, and Tiz the Law didn’t have the smoothest of trips in that race. Asked if he had any concerns about returning to Churchill, Tagg quipped “depends on whether it’s raining or not.” Tagg’s concerns seem to be all circumstantial. “There’s always a million things that could happen, he could stumble coming out of the gate and it’s all over,” Tagg said. :: Play Saratoga with DRF! Visit our Saratoga shop for DRF PPs, Picks, Betting Strategies, and Clocker Reports Travers second- and third-place finishers Caracaro and Max Player will both be trained toward a start in the Kentucky Derby. Caracaro, making just his second start since January, finished second in the Travers just 23 days after he finished second in the Peter Pan Stakes. Gustavo Delgado, who trains Caracaro, said Sunday morning that his horse was in good shape and that he would get a more thorough examination Monday morning by his veterinarian. Provided all is well, he will go on to the Kentucky Derby. Still, Delgado knows turning the tables on Tiz the Law will be a tall task. “If the Derby is tomorrow it would be impossible for Tiz the Law to lose,” Delgado said. “One month is a long time, anything can happen. Right now, I’m very happy with my horse.” Delgado said he also would do all of Caracaro’s serious training in Saratoga. Max Player finished third to Tiz the Law for the second straight race. In the Belmont Stakes, Max Player was beaten 5 1/4 lengths. Saturday, the margin was 7 1/2 lengths. “We lacked a little pace in the race, it still looks like he ran a 99 Beyer, he’s taking a step forward each time,” said Linda Rice, trainer of Max Player. “We have enough points to go on to Kentucky, right now that’s the plan, but we’ll be discussing it further in the next week or so.” Rice trains Max Player for George Hall and SportBLX Thoroughbreds, a syndicate that has sold hundreds of shares in the colt. Rice said she thought Tiz the Law “was much more impressive” in the Travers than he was in the Belmont Stakes “He did it so easily,” Rice said. “He looked to me like he took a huge step forward yesterday.” Uncle Chuck, the 5-2 second choice in the Travers off two impressive victories, backed up to sixth, 11 lengths behind Tiz the Law. He was expected to return to California on Monday. “I think he just got really tired, he wasn’t ready for that, it was too much for him,” trainer Bob Baffert said. “We’ll get him back here and freshen him up.”