Derby Winners Funny Cide & Mine That Bird Make Joint Appearance
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Fans who visit Churchill Downs Racetrack (“CDRT”) and the Kentucky Derby Museum (“KDM”) on Thursday, May 2 will enjoy a rare opportunity to admire two
winners of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Grade I) when 2003 winner Funny Cide and Mine That Bird, the longshot victor in 2009, make joint appearances at both venues.
Mine That Bird is in limited
residence through July 4th at the Kentucky Derby Museum. Funny Cide
will travel from his current home at the Kentucky Horse Park near
Lexington to celebrate the 10th
anniversary of his triumph in the “Run for the Roses.”
The two Derby winners will be joined at both venues by key members of their respective teams. Jack Knowlton, the managing partner of the Sackatoga Stable partnership that owns Funny Cide,
and jockey Jose Santos will join the 2003 winner. Trainer Chip Woolley, who saddled Mine That Bird for his 50-1 upset victory in the 2009 Derby, will be at the side of the New Mexico-based star.
The Kentucky Derby
champions, who rank among the most popular winners of the great race
during its past 25 years, will visit the Churchill Downs paddock during
Thursday’s fifth race, which has a scheduled
post time of 2:47 p.m. (all times Eastern). They are expected to arrive
in the paddock at 2:20 p.m. and will depart after the conclusion of the
race.
Both Derby winners
will be available earlier in the day at the Kentucky Derby Museum for
photo-ops from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the back garden. Fans will be
invited to walk by the horses’ stalls for
photos, and Knowlton and Santos will be in the museum’s barn area to
greet fans and sign autographs (a gift shop purchase is required for
signatures).
“Mine That Bird is
the first Derby winner housed on our property at the museum and we are
thrilled to showcase two winners at the same time during this peak day
of Derby week,” said Lynn Ashton, executive
director of the Kentucky Derby Museum. “It’s a rare opportunity in
life to get close to one Kentucky Derby winner – much less two – and
offering this lifetime experience for fans is a treat for the Museum.”
“The Kentucky
Derby is all about pursuing – and achieving – a dream, and these two
champions embody the dream of winning America’s greatest race as much as
any Derby winners in memory,” said Kevin Flanery,
president of Churchill Downs Racetrack. “Each holds a special
place in Derby lore and we appreciate the desire of their owners to
share their beloved stars as we prepare to add another name to the elite
roster of Kentucky Derby winners in Saturday’s
139th Derby.”
Funny Cide made Kentucky Derby history as the New York-bred trained by Barclay Tagg knocked off favored Empire Maker to
become the first gelding since 1929 to earn Derby roses. He went on
to win the Preakness (GI), the second jewel of racing’s Triple Crown, by
9 3/4 lengths before he finished third in a rematch with the victorious
Empire Maker in the Belmont Stakes, the Crown’s final jewel. The son
of Distorted Humor was named the champion
3-year-old of 2003 and won 11 of 38 races and earned $3,529,412 during
his five-year career on the track.
Mine That Bird, owned by Double Eagle Ranch and Buena Suerte Equine, stunned onlookers at Churchill Downs when the 50-1 long shot rallied from last in a field of 19 under jockey Calvin Borel
to score a 6 3/4 length victory in the 2009 Derby. The triumph by the
diminutive gelding was the second-largest upset in the 138-year history
of the Derby and he followed that surprising win with a strong runner-up
finish to Kentucky Oaks (GI) winner and eventual
Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra and a third-place run behind Summer Bird
in the Belmont Stakes. Mine That Bird won five of 18 starts and
amassed career earnings of $2,228,637 during his three years of racing.
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