My favorite moment was his Preakness win. I was at Pimlico that afternoon and the excitement could not be matched in my book. Some people tend to forget that whole Miami newspaper accusation that Jose Santos had a shocking device on Funny Cide during the Derby. It was great to see the horse, jockey and connections validated when he roared off the turn and destroyed that field.
That being said, I bet against him in the Belmont! 2-1 was an amazing price on Empire Maker and that may have been the easiest money I ever made on a horse race.
I was also lucky enough to meet Funny Cide when he came to Boston for the Mass Cap a few years ago. I had a friend who knew Knowlton and a few of us were allowed to spend a few minutes in the barn with him before they shipped back to NY. Beautiful horse, but a little snippy (I would have been too, if I just lost to Offlee Wild by a neck).
FC has done alot for the game and brought plenty of fans into it, but it was time to do right by him. Hopefully, they have a little retirement ceremony for him up in Saratoga this summer.
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"Boston fans hate the Yankees, we hate the Canadiens and we hate the Lakers. It's in our DNA. It just is." - Bill Simmons
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