Bob Baffert suspended 15 days by Arkansas racing officials

Tiz the Law is the biggest favorite in 31 years – but just about everything else makes the 146th edition unlike any other. ”It’s going to be weird,” said five-time Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert. None of the cheering – or cursing after losing wagers – from 150,000 fans will be heard this year at Churchill Downs, where America’s longest continuously held sports event will go on Saturday, four months later than usual.

Frankie Dettori can never be kept quiet for long and the irrepressible Italian jockey duly struck twice at Royal Ascot on Wednesday after drawing a blank on the first day. The 48-year-old took his Royal Ascot total to 62 in winning the feature race of the day the Prince of Wales’s Stakes on Crystal

Improbable (5-2) will be gunning for his fourth consecutive Grade One race win while Baffert, the sport’s most successful trainer, is looking to secure a record-extending fourth victory in the 1-1/4 mile, $6 million contest. Other contenders in the 10-horse field are Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law (3-1) and Baffert’s two other horses – Saudi Cup champion Maximum Security (7-2) and Kentucky Derby champion Authentic (6-1). The 67-year-old Baffert, who has also won six Kentucky Derbys as well as the Triple Crown in 2015 and 2018, has been under scrutiny after receiving medication complaints from regulators this year.