Funny Cide Fails in Triple Crown Bid

More than 100,000 fans attended a rain-soaked Belmont Park and the 135th running of the Belmont Stakes to see if Funny Cide could become the first gelding to win racing's Triple Crown. Unfortunately, the hometown fans went home wet and disappointed as Empire Maker's brilliant performance put an end to Funny Cide's bid to become the first horse in 25 years to win the Triple Crown. If Funny Cide had won the race, he would have become the 12th Triple Crown winner and would have received a $5 million bonus from Visa.

Funny Cide was the favorite in the race, going off at even money. The public bet him all week long. The fans in attendance saw Empire Maker hold off Ten Most Wanted in the stretch. Empire Maker was the second choice and paid $6 to win. Ten Most Wanted put in a terrific performance and ran a close second. Bobby Frankel, Empire Maker's trainer, finally won a Triple Crown race. He also won the $400,000 Manhattan Handicap, which was run before the Belmont. While the crowd would have liked to have seen Funny Cide win, the day as a whole was seen as very positive for horse racing. Casual fans came out to the track even though the weather was bad. The sport of kings needs more stories like this to bring back fan interest, which has been waning over the years. The story of several childhood friends buying a horse and having a shot to win the Triple Crown is a compelling one. Hopefully, more people will be drawn to the racetrack because of it, and that is good for everybody involved in the sport.

The question for the owners of both Funny Cide and Empire Maker is, where do they go from here? Empire Maker is scheduled to run in the Jim Dandy at Saratoga and then the Travers three weeks later. The owners of Funny Cide are saying they are looking to race at the Haskel (Monmouth Park) and then the Travers, as well. So, we may well see the champions battle it out in August at Saratoga.