Funny Cide, the popular New York-bred gelding who gained fans during his 2003 Triple Crown bid, died Sunday morning at the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington after complications from colic. He was 23. Funny Cide had resided at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions since 2008. That barn was to remain closed on Sunday following his passing. “We are heartbroken at the news of Funny Cide's passing this morning,” owner Sackatoga Stable wrote in a statement. “What a ride the ‘Gutsy Gelding’ took us on, winning the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. We are so grateful to the Kentucky Horse Park for giving our guy a wonderful retirement. To say we will miss him is an understatement.” Funny Cide, by Distorted Humor and out of Belle's Good Cide, was bred by WinStar Farm, which stood his sire, and was foaled out at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds in New York. He went through the ring at the 2001 Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale in Saratoga Springs, where he was purchased for $22,000 by pinhooker Tony Everard. Trainer Barclay Tagg then purchased the horse the following year on behalf of Sackatoga Stable, a group of friends from Sackets Harbor, N.Y., who hoped to campaign horses together in their home state with modest expectations. Funny Cide was a 14 3/4-length debut winner at Belmont in September 2002, and proceeded to annex two New York-bred stakes at Belmont that fall, taking the Bertram F. Bongard by nine lengths and the Sleepy Hollow by a neck. Those efforts earned him his first New York-bred divisional title, and a chance at the Kentucky Derby trail against open company. Although he was fifth in the Grade 3 Holy Bull in Florida to start his 3-year-old campaign in 2003, Funny Cide was an improved third-place finisher – promoted to second on a disqualification – behind Peace Rules in the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby, then second by half a length to Empire Maker in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial. The efforts were strong enough to earn Funny Cide a trip to the Kentucky Derby as Tagg’s first classic starter. The Sackatoga owners famously rented a yellow school bus to drive them to Churchill Downs. Much of the pre-race attention at Churchill Downs centered on the Bobby Frankel-trained duo of Empire Maker, the race favorite despite battling a foot issue, and Peace Rules. But it was Funny Cide and jockey Jose Santos who drove through the stretch to win by 1 3/4 lengths, triggering a $27.60 upset as Empire Maker finished second by a head over Peace Rules. Funny Cide became the first New York-bred to win the Derby, and the first gelding to win since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929. Announcer Tom Durkin’s national call dubbing Funny Cide “the gutsy gelding” in the stretch became the nickname that would follow the chestnut for the rest of his racing career. Funny Cide rolled to a 9 3/4-length victory in the Preakness Stakes, setting up a Triple Crown bid in his home state, with the Sackatoga team continuing to ride a school bus to the track on race days. But in the 1 1/2-mile Belmont, Funny Cide, who was on the muscle following a swift pre-race drill, led early before fading to third, beaten a total of five lengths by the resurgent Empire Maker on the sloppy track. Despite that defeat, and despite losses in his two starts to end the magical campaign – third in the Grade 1 Haskell Invitational, and ninth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic – Funny Cide was voted the Eclipse Award champion 3-year-old male of 2003. He also earned the first of his New York-bred horse of the year titles, and another divisional honor. As a gelding, Funny Cide continued to race for four more seasons and continued to be a popular draw for racing fans. The biggest of his post-Triple Crown victories came in the Grade 1 Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont in the fall of 2004, as he split rivals in the stretch drive to win by three-quarters of a length. That earned the “gutsy gelding” another New York-bred horse of the year and divisional titles. Funny Cide’s other stakes wins as an older horse came in the Grade 3 Excelsior Breeders’ Cup in 2004 at Belmont; the 2006 Kings Point Handicap at Aqueduct; the Grade 3 Dominion Day in 2006 at Woodbine; and the 2007 Wadsworth Memorial Handicap at Finger Lakes. He also placed in nine other stakes. Funny Cide made a fitting farewell to the races with a dominant three-length win as the heavy favorite in the Wadsworth before an adoring crowd at Finger Lakes on July 4, 2007. Shortly after, his connections announced that they would retire him off that win. His racing record stood at 38-11-6-8 with earnings of $3,529,412. He is still the second-highest-earning New York-bred of all time, behind Mind Your Biscuits ($4,279,566), who earned rich purses at the top level in Dubai. After a brief stint as a stable pony for Tagg, Funny Cide was announced as a Hall of Champions resident in November 2008. He made brief forays to his home state, including a summer spent at Old Friends at Cabin Creek in 2010, and another visit there that included an appearance at Saratoga Race Course in 2015. Funny Cide will be buried at his longtime home at the Hall of Champions, near fellow Derby winners Alysheba and Go for Gin and legends such as Cigar and John Henry. “Funny Cide, you meant so much to not just my family, but the racing community,” Jose Santos Jr., the gelding’s regular rider’s son and now a jockey agent, wrote on Twitter on Sunday morning. “You will be remembered by most for your grit, determination, will to win, and being the champion no one could have expected,” Santos Jr., continued. “By me, you will be remembered for the moments you gave our family. You are a family member to me. I felt so much comfort knowing if I was having a bad day I could get in the car to drive an hour to come see you. It hurts to know I’ve lost that, but I will never lose the memories you gave me, as well as the love I have for you. Fly high champion. You mean more to me than I can ever put into words. I love you Funny.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.