Funny Cide, here winning the 2004 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park, won three New York-bred Horse of the Year titles and multiple divisional crowns in a career highlighted by his Kentucky Derby and Preakness victories. NYRA Photo.
By Sean Clancy and Joe Clancy
A good racehorse can change everything, and Funny Cide sure did that. The New York-bred gelding, who retired in 2007 as the program’s career earnings leader with $3,529,412 and died Sunday at age 23, sent waves of influence through the lives of scores of people and – in reality – an entire state’s Thoroughbred industry.
“It was life-changing for all the 10 partners and from the business perspective, it put the New York-bred program on a plateau where it had never been before,” said Jack Knowlton, co-founder and operating manager of owner Sackatoga Stable. “And it hasn’t gone away. Once you win the Derby, people see that anything is possible with a New York-bred and the program has only gotten better and better. All of the things we got to do around his Triple Crown run, the Today Show, all of that. If that horse doesn’t come along, would Sackatoga Stable still be around? Who knows? He touched an incredible number of lives, he had a fan base that continued right up until today. I can’t begin to count the number of texts, calls, emails that I’ve gotten. People sharing pictures they have with him at the Horse Park. He was such a fan favorite.”
Foaled at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds for breeder WinStar Farm in 2000, Funny Cide sold to Tony Everard for $22,000 at Fasig-Tipton’s New York-bred yearling sale in Saratoga.
“Tony Everard was an old friend of ours and we had to push him to buy him,” Joe McMahon said Sunday. “He was a beautiful-walking horse, he was a smart-looking horse but he had long, slopey pasterns, so be careful of the horses you knock for that.”
Via trainer Barclay Tagg, Everard sold the chestnut son of Distorted Humor to Sackatoga as a 2-year-old the following year. Funny Cide won all three starts (two stakes) in New York-bred company as a 2-year-old. At 3, he hit the big time – placing in three preps for the 2003 Kentucky Derby before landing the nation’s most famous Thoroughbred race in a 13-1 upset of the favored Empire Maker.
Sackatoga and its horse were instant news.
“Part of it was the human story, us guys being ordinary guys, going to the Derby in a school bus, people saw us as the every-man kind of story,” Knowlton said. “There have been others somewhat like it afterward but we were in the right place at the right time. It was a difficult time for the country, with a war going on and all kinds of stuff. And, in Saratoga, he was born here, that just embellished the whole story. The local horse. Being a New York-bred, once he won the Derby, all of New York embraced him as theirs.”
Two weeks after the Derby, Funny Cide dominated the Preakness, winning by 9 3/4 lengths to set up a Triple Crown attempt in the Belmont Stakes. Empire Maker got his revenge there, winning over Ten Most Wanted with Funny Cide third.
“Anne and I sat in the box with Robin (Smullen) and Barclay when he won the Derby. It was like, ‘This stuff doesn’t happen.’ It changed a lot of lives and it changed the face of the business, for a New York-bred to win the Derby and the Preakness, that was huge. It gave New York a little credibility that they could raise a good horse. It changed the partnership business, the idea that for a small amount of money you could get a classic horse. It gave great exposure to inexpensive horses and multiple participation for not a lot of money. He did change the game.”
At 4, he won the Grade 3 Excelsior at Aqueduct in April and the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park in October. As a 6-year-old, Funny Cide won two more stakes (topped by Woodbine’s Grade 3 Dominion Day). In his final start, July 4, 2007, he won the Wadsworth Memorial at Finger Lakes. Racing in six seasons, 2002-07, Funny Cide won 11 races, finished second six times and was third eight times. He was the New York-bred Horse of the Year three times, also collecting divisional trophies as champion 2-year-old, 3-year-old and older horse.
In retirement he was the Tagg stable lead pony for a bit and then moved to the Kentucky Horse Park, where he proved a popular attraction with visitors to the Hall of Champions. He died due to complications of colic and will be cremated and buried at the Horse Park. Saratoga hosts a stakes for New York-bred 2-year-olds in his honor (this year’s is Aug. 27) and he appeared in the paddock as a retiree in 2015.
Twenty years since he won the Kentucky Derby, and five since Mind Your Biscuits claimed the New York-bred earnings lead with $4,279,566, Funny Cide is still a measuring stick for the state’s Thoroughbred industry.
“Funny Cide was arguably the most popular and most accomplished New York-bred thanks to his memorable performances on track including his unforgettable victories in the 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness,” said Najja Thompson, executive director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. “He helped to elevate the New York-bred program to national prominence, and I am thankful we were able to honor Funny Cide and his connections last year at Saratoga. On behalf of New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc. we offer our sincere condolences to everyone directly involved in his life and all who cheered for him during his career.”
