From the Kentucky Horse Park
Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes (both gr. I) winner Funny Cide will become the newest resident of the Kentucky Horse Park, it was announced Nov. 26. Funny Cide, scheduled to arrive at the park Dec. 5, will join another Kentucky Derby winner, Alysheba, who came to the park in October.
Funny Cide (Distorted Humor –Belle’s Good Cide, by Slewacide) was bred by William Casner and Kenny Troutt’s WinStar Farm in a collaborative venture with McMahon Thoroughbreds of Saratoga Springs, New York where he was foaled, raised and then sold as a yearling for $22,000 at the August 2001 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred Preferred yearling sale. He was later purchased privately as a 2-year old by Sackatoga Stable for $75,000.
Funny Cide went on to earn $3,529,412 and an Eclipse Award as champion 3-year-old colt, becoming the highest-earning New York-bred in history for trainer Barclay Tagg. His nine stakes wins also included the prestigious Jockey Club Gold Cup (gr. I).
| Funny Cide Slide Show | |||
 Funny Cide |
|||
John Nicholson, executive director of the Kentucky Horse Park, said: “Funny Cide will be a welcome addition to our Hall of Champions. He was one of those rare horses who captured the public’s imagination while he was on the track and continues to have a significant following of loyal fans. He is quite a young horse, so we hope the public will visit him often and get to know him over the coming years, and develop a special relationship with him the way they have so many of our other resident champions.
“We are honored that Funny Cide’s connections recognized the Kentucky Horse Park as a good fit for their horse and his fans.”
Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Sackatoga Stable, said: “The 10 owners of Funny Cide are truly honored that the Kentucky Horse Park has invited him to reside in its Hall of Champions. We are pleased that his large fan base will have an opportunity to visit him at this wonderful facility not too far from his greatest triumph.”
“Funny Cide helped put WinStar Farm on the map, because he proved we could breed a top horse, and that we were willing to sell our best to promote our stallions," WinStar Farm president Doug Cauthen said. "He was the first classic winner for his sire Distorted Humor, who is the foundation stallion at WinStar Farm, and who has proven to be one of the top sires in the world. Watching Funny Cide win the Kentucky Derby was a surreal moment, and a game-changing event for WinStar Farm. We owe him big.”
Since his retirement as a race horse in 2007, the 8-year-old gelding has been used as Tagg’s stable pony on the track. "The rigors of racing and training for several years have started to cause him mild discomfort recently as he continued working on a regular basis as my stable pony," the trainer said. "So, now the time has come, as he is turning 9-years-old, to really retire.”
The public is invited to the Horse Park for Funny Cide’s welcome reception Dec. 5 at 2 p.m. EST. It is included with park admission.
Click here to watch HRTV video of Funny Cide.