Favorite Funny Cide Memory

[Hickory Hill Hoff]

Didn't like him at all in the Derby (N.Y.bred, gelding, no work over the track etc.) Capital OTB had a promotion that year where you could place your losing tickets (and had plenty) in a drawing for various amount vouchers for the next leg of the Triple Crown; the Preakness. Went to the Gloversville branch the next day (it was the only one open locally on Sunday) Got there 10 minutes before it was to close and didn't see the box to place the tickets in. The teller had it behind the counter and got it for me... almost missed out. The next week, I get a phone call from Capital's promotion department saying I won a voucher from the drawing. Here thinking it was for only $10 or $20, I said nice...but no big deal. When I was informed it was a $500 winning voucher, I said WOW!!! The voucher was for a win wager of that amount on the Preakness Stakes. As the days approached, I had it down between Funny Cide & Bob Baffert's runner (which the name escapes me now, but didn't run anyway). So it was Funny Cide who I placed the $500 to win on....and the rest was history. Went to the tele-theater to watch the race and in the old opening credits to their ID for the network, you could see me screaming and jumping up and down. Needless to say...I owe a lot to that "gutsy gelding"!

[Suffolk Shippers]

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.