Tiz the Law — partially owned by former Tour caddie’s wife — wins Florida Derby
By Craig Dolch · March 29, 2020
Former PGA Tour caddie Greg “Piddler” Martin was confident about Tiz the Law becoming one of the best thoroughbreds in horse racing history before Saturday’s Florida Derby.
“It’s going to be Citation, Secretariat and Tiz the Law,” said Piddler, whose wife, Kathleen Sands Martin, owns a share of the colt from Sackatoga Stable.
How did Piddler feel after Tiz the Law dominated the Florida Derby with a 4 ¼-length victory at Gulfstream Park?
RELATED: Longtime PGA Tour caddie Piddler Martin has sights set on Kentucky Derby
“It’s going to be Tiz the Law, Citation and Secretariat,” Piddler said with a laugh. “Did you not see the race?”
The Martins had to watch the Florida Derby from their Dunedin home because Gulfstream Park was closed to fans and owners because of the coronavirus. They had traveled to be at Tiz the Law’s four previous career starts in New York, Kentucky and Florida.
“Greg sat on the sofa with the dog, and I stood in front of the TV. We did a lot of yelling,” said Kathleen, who got the family in the horse racing business when she took $20,000 out of her 401k to join an ownership syndicate.”
Piddler was originally skeptical about becoming a horse racing owner, but soon joined in. He bought a piece of Commanding Curve, a 37-1 longshot who finished second to California Chrome in the 2014 Kentucky Derby.
Says Piddler, “If the Kentucky Derby was the first weekend in May, I have no doubt Tiz the Law would win.”
That’s the problem: The Kentucky Derby has been moved to the first Saturday in May because of COVID-19.
The Martins must wait five more months to see if Tiz the Law can win the sport’s most famous race. Even for a guy like Piddler, who got his nickname on the PGA Tour because he’s never in a hurry, that’s a long time.
“I would love the Derby to be in a month,” Piddler said. “But I have no control over it.
“If I could choose, I would want Tiz the Law to win the Arkansas Derby, go to Saratoga and win the Travers and then go win the Kentucky Derby. It would be like the Triple Crown in reverse.”
Piddler says he and his wife will donate a portion of Tiz the Law’s earnings to help the fight against the virus.
“With what this world is going through, horse racing isn’t really that big,” he said. “We’re going to do what we can in our town of Dunedin (where he is a parks and recreation commissioner) to make this world a better place. I really mean that.”
