Belmont Stakes 2020 Contenders: Horse Pedigree and Jockey Info for Top Favorites

Horse racing's Triple Crown is slated to begin Saturday with the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York.

Traditionally, the Belmont is the Triple Crown's final leg, but the coronavirus pandemic ensured that wouldn't be the case in 2020. The Kentucky Derby was postponed until Sept. 5, and the Preakness Stakes was moved back to Oct. 3.

The New York Racing Association confirmed the Belmont Stakes would be delayed by only two weeks. The race is also being trimmed from its usual 1½ miles to 1⅛ miles and will have no fans in attendance.

2020 Belmont Stakes Field

Dr Post

• Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
• Pedigree: Quality Road, Mary Delaney

Farmington Road

• Jockey: Javier Castellano
• Pedigree: Quality Road, Silver La Belle

Jungle Runner

• Jockey: Reylu Gutierrez
• Pedigree: Candy Ride, Minx

Max Player

• Jockey: Joel Rosario
• Pedigree: Honor Code, Fools in Love

Modernist

• Jockey: TBD
• Pedigree: Uncle Mo, Symbolic Gesture

Pneumatic

• Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.
• Pedigree: Uncle Mo, Teardrop

Sole Volante

• Jockey: Luca Panici
• Pedigree: Karakontie, Light Blow

Tap It To Win

• Jockey: John Velazquez
• Pedigree: Tapit, Onepointhreekarats

Tiz The Law

• Jockey: Manny Franco
• Pedigree: Constitution, Tizfiz

Three horses initially emerged as the strongest contenders: Tiz The Law, Charlatan and Maxfield. Nadal would have joined that group had he not suffered a career-ending injury during a training session at Santa Anita Park.

Charlatan and Maxfield have dropped out as well. The former is dealing with a minor ankle problem, while the latter is running instead in the Blue Grass Stakes on July 11.

That leaves Tiz The Law as the heavy favorite. Tiz The Law has two Grade 1 stakes victories from the Champagne Stakes last October and Florida Derby in March.

Because of the general upheaval of the horse racing calendar, fans might be looking at pedigree as a bigger predictor of performance Saturday. Not to mention, what is generally considered a marathon race has instead become a sprint, changing how jockeys and trainers prepare.

Tiz The Law was sired by Constitution, who looked like a major player heading into the 2014 Kentucky Derby after winning the Florida Derby. However, a hairline fracture ruled him out in the Run for the Roses, and he missed the remaining Triple Crown races too.

Dr Post might be Tiz The Law's stiffest competition after reeling off two straight wins in sprints this spring, though he doesn't have a wealth of experience. He was sired by Quality Road, whose career ended with a 12th-place finish in the 2010 Breeders' Cup Classic. Prior to that, he had seven wins in graded stakes events, most notably the 2009 Florida Derby.

Tap It To Win already has one win at Belmont Park, surging to a first-place showing in a June 4 allowance. Tapit sired the three-year-old colt. Tapit headed into Churchill Downs in 2004 off the back of a Wood Memorial victory but labored to ninth place in the Run for the Roses.

Between his excellent track record and strong pedigree, Tiz The Law's status as the favorite is well deserved.  But as strong as he looks on paper, none of that will count when the gates are opened at Belmont Park on Saturday.