Sometimes, Hope runs on Four Legs

“Where have you gone

Joe DiMaggio?

A nation turns its lonely eyes

To you”

—Paul Simon, “Mrs. Robinson”

In uncertain times like these, many revert to tried-and-true methods from bygone days that can help bring back small victories. Little wins help reclaim confidence and offer baby steps toward success.

Our nation found solace way back in 1973 when a massive copper-colored colt named Secretariat pulled the nation out of a Watergate nightmare and helped restore normalcy. He appeared on the covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated when those magazines still mattered far more in our public consciousness.

This year, a strapping colt named Tiz the Law could elevate the mood of a sports-starved nation by completing one of the most memorable horseracing campaigns in the proud history of the Sport of Kings.

They don’t get any more old-school than the horse trainer Barkley Tagg. He has done a masterful job with the three-year-old colt who will run on Saturday, August 8th in the Travers Stakes at Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York. The track is the oldest sports venue in America dating back to 1863.

Better still, the wacky syndicate that owns Tiz the Law is from Saratoga Springs so it will be a homecoming party of epic proportions for Sackatoga Stables and their New York-bred. That is the same group that won the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes with another New York-bred, Funny Cide.

Tagg (PSU class of ’61) also trained Funny Cide 17 years ago and is an 83-year-old trainer who is a throwback to the days when trainers had far fewer horses under their shedrow and gave them individualized attention. Tagg still gets a leg up on his pony and keeps a keen eye on his horses during morning workouts. He doesn’t seek out the spotlight, would think a “brand” is something done to cattle and speaks softly and slowly.

Trainers as a group are worriers by nature, so the careful schedule that Tagg had laid out for the colt had dissipated by March of this year. As Eisenhower said, “Plans are worthless, but planning is essential” so Tagg pivoted and charted a new course for Tiz the Law.

The Covid-19 pandemic has played havoc with all sports schedules. Baseball and football haven’t gotten the memo yet, but they have very little chance to complete their seasons.

The Triple Crown, consisting of the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, normally has been run during a six-week period from May into June. This year, the sequence will be Belmont/Derby/Preakness in June-September-October.

Tiz the Law romped to victory in the Belmont Stakes that was run on July 21st. If he were to capture the Travers next weekend and then sweep the other two legs of the Triple Crown, the colt could then take aim at the Breeders’ Cup Classic that will be run at Keeneland Racecourse in Lexington, Kentucky, on the first Saturday in November.

That would mean Tiz the Law would be poised to complete one of the most astonishing campaigns in the annals of racing in the BC Classic on the Saturday following the 2020 Presidential election, November 7th. In a sports vacuum, he could reach a level of celebrity that hasn’t been seen since those political vultures were circling Nixon.

Tiz the Law must prove on the track that he belongs in the same hushed whispers that people use when saying Secretariat’s name to this day. Just as Secretariat lifted a nation from the depths of domestic strife, Tiz the Law might help turn this nation’s lonely eyes towards the racetrack to help bring solace to the masses.

Tune in on Saturday, August 8th to see whether he can uplift a town, a state, a sport and an entire nation by offering a needed distraction punctuated by what few animals can do to people—take away our collective breath by running a hole in the wind.

While socially distancing, of course.