Jack Knowlton stood on the main track at Keeneland awaiting the return of Sackatoga Stable's Tiz Dashing, a 4-year-old colt by Sackatoga classic winner Tiz the Law that ran in the $650,000 Mile Stakes (G1T) at 1 mile April 10.
Tiz Dashing ran last but was beaten by less than four lengths in the race Knowlton called a Breeders' Cup-caliber event.
"No regrets," Knowlton said after the race. "You gotta take a shot."
Knowlton took a shot more than 30 years ago, when he co-founded Sackatoga with Ed Mitzen in 1995. Since 2000 the stable's horses have earned just more than $10 million in purses.
Sackatoga claims its name from combining Sackets Harbor, New York, where Knowlton grew up, and Saratoga Springs, where he has lived with his wife Dorothy for many years.
"Let's buy a horse and win a race at Saratoga," Knowlton said to five friends in 1995. "We won the Kentucky Derby before we won a race at Saratoga."
In 2000 a horse named Funny Cide was foaled. The New York-bred gelding who rose from humble roots and secured the first two legs of the Triple Crown, won the hearts of horse enthusiasts and the public throughout the world. Funny Cide won the hearts of Knowlton and his Sackatoga parters, too.
His impact would continue even after his six seasons of racing that saw him win the Jockey Club Gold Cup Stakes (G1) at 4 and earn stakes wins at age 6 and 7. He then retired and became an ambassador for Thoroughbred racing at the Kentucky Horse Park.
Rob Willis, supervisor of the park's Hall of Champions, cared for Funny Cide from 2017 until he died in 2023. Willis said the late Go for Gin, also a former Hall of Champins resident, and Funny Cide were one of the reasons he took the job.
"I called (Funny Cide) the Horse Park's most popular resident," Willis said.
That legacy was celebrated at the Kentucky Horse Park April 30 with the unveiling of a statue of Funny Cide. It was preceded by a reception where videos and Funny Cide memorabilia were displayed. Speakers included Lee Carter, the Horse Park executive director, Knowlton, Willis and Kathy Vespaziana, the park's equine entertainment host and announcer.
Equine sculptor Shelley Hunter created the Funny Cide statue. Hunter already has created several statues already on display at the Horse Park, including the bronze sculptures of Alysheba and John Henry located along the Memorial Walk of Champions.
The Funny Cide likeness will be the seventh in the Hall of Champions that includes a replica of Go for Gin, a Willis favorite. Knowlton took the lead on getting the statue, Willis said.
Knowlton hosted a fundraiser at Siro's restaurant in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., during the Saratoga Race Course meet that raised $12,500. Another fundraiser was held at Finger Lakes Race Track where Funny Cide made his final start and won the H. Wadsworth Memorial Handicap Stakes July 4, 2007. The Horse Park also hosted fundraising events, including a popular trail ride in remembrance of Funny Cide.
"He was a celebrity," Willis said.
The story of Funny Cide and Sackatoga Stable was a memorable one for park patrons, Willis said.
"That's a wonderful place," Knowlton said. "I go there almost every year because we'd been to the Derby every year after he won, and I'd go over—usually it would be on Sunday—and participate in one of the shows with people. It's so amazing the popularity that he had."
