Tiz the Law closes at 5-2 favorite in Pool 6 of Derby Future Wager

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Tiz the Law closed as a clear-cut favorite when Pool 6 in the 2020 Kentucky Derby Future Wager closed Sunday following the customary three days of betting.

Pool 6 coincided with a second futures pool toward the 2020 Kentucky Oaks, with an Oaks-Derby double future wager also being offered again.

Tiz the Law, winner of the June 20 Belmont Stakes, closed at 5-2 in Pool 6, followed by Honor A. P. (6-1), Uncle Chuck (6-1), Art Collector (8-1), Authentic (9-1), and the mutuel field (14-1), the 24th or “all others” option. Tiz the Law also closed as the 2-1 favorite in Pool 5, which ran June 26-28.

Churchill Downs has never had more than four futures pools since the first were offered in 1999, but these are unprecedented times amid the coronavirus pandemic. The 146th Derby has been postponed from its original May 2 date until Sept. 5, and the Belmont became the first leg of the Triple Crown.

:: KENTUCKY DERBY 2020: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more

Combined Pool 6 handle was $191,345, with $126,026 bet to win and $65,320 in exactas. The lowest $2 exacta will-pay was Tiz the Law over Honor A. P. (21-8), worth $33.80.

Five of the Pool 6 horses were in action last week, most notably Authentic, Ny Traffic (19-1), and Dr Post (24-1), the respective 1-2-3 finishers Saturday in the Haskell at Monmouth.

The field closed as the favorite in each of the first four pools. Pool 1 was Nov. 27-30, Pool 2 was Feb. 7-9, Pool 3 was March 6-8, and Pool 4 was April 3-5. Pool 7 is set for Aug. 7-9.

Only four horses have been listed as separate interests in all six 2020 pools – Authentic, Honor A. P., Thousand Words, and Tiz the Law.

In the Oaks pool, Gamine closed as the 2-1 favorite off her smashing triumph in the June 20 Acorn Stakes for Bob Baffert. Swiss Skydiver is next at 9-2, followed by Speech (10-1), Paris Lights (14-1), Donna Veloce (14-1), and Altaf (17-1). The lowest $2 exacta will-pay is Gamine over Swiss Skydiver (8-19), worth $22.40.

Only seven fillies remained as separate interests from the first Oaks pool, which was offered in conjunction with Derby Pool 3 in early March.

Combined handle on this second Oaks pool was $54,897, with $35,383 bet to win and $19,514 in exactas. Handle on the Oaks-Derby double was $59,245.

The Oaks pool in March drew $101,841 in combined handle, and the Oaks-Derby double handled $87,175.

With the Peter Pan and Haskell having been run, only four points qualifiers remain toward both the Derby and the Sept. 4 Kentucky Oaks, helping to explain why the mutuel fields in each pool closed at such high odds (14-1 for Derby and 22-1 for Oaks).