Tiz the Law a big favorite in full field for Florida Derby

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – With several unexpected entrants coming out of the woodwork Wednesday morning, a full field of 12 3-year-olds, plus one also-eligible, was drawn for the marquee race of the Gulfstream Park Championship meet, the Grade 1 Florida Derby.

The purse for the 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby has been reduced from $1 million to $750,000, although the race will still offer 170 Kentucky Derby qualifying points of which 100 go to the winner. The Florida Derby highlights a 14-race program that also will feature a mandatory payout of the Rainbow 6, which was expected to have a pool of about $1.5 million if unhit before Saturday.

Tiz the Law will go postward the overwhelming favorite and was made the 6-5 morning-line favorite by track oddsmaker Jay Stone. The Grade 3 Holy Bull winner drew well, as he will break from post 7 under regular rider Manny Franco.

:: Florida Derby: News, contenders, and videos

“Post 6 or 7 was what I was hoping he’d draw, so it worked out well for us, although you know with big fields like this it still depends on the breaks you get during the race,” said Barclay Tagg, who trains Tiz the Law for Sackatoga Stable. “I’m also pleased that they are letting us stay up here at Palm Meadows until the day of the race. There are five of us in Barn 18 with a security guard, but that beats having to send him down to a strange place for the next three days as was the original plan.”

Ete Indien took the worst of the draw, pulling post 12, meaning he’ll have to break from the outside post with a short run to the first turn. The outside post didn’t faze Ete Indien, however, in the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth four weeks earlier. Ete Indien broke alertly from post 10 in the 1 1/16-mile race and was able to easily make the lead into the clubhouse turn under jockey Florent Geroux, controlling all the pace en route to an easy 8 1/2-length triumph.

:: To stay up to date, follow us on: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

Geroux, who replaced the injured Luca Panici in the Fountain of Youth, will again have the assignment, with Ete Indien the second choice on the morning line at odds of 4-1. He is trained by Patrick Biancone.

The Florida Derby field, from the rail out, is: As Seen On Tv, Paco Lopez; Shivaree, Emisael Jaramillo; Disc Jockey, Tyler Gaffalione; Soros, Edgar Prado; Gouverneur Morris, John Velazquez; Ajhaweed, Luis Saez; Tiz the Law; My First Grammy, Hector Berrios; Independence Hall, Joel Rosario; Candy Tycoon, Javier Castellano; Sassy but Smart, Joe Bravo; and Ete Indien. The maiden Rogue Element is on the also-eligible list.