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CNN Live Saturday

Interview With Jackson Knowlton

Aired June 07, 2003 - 14:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: No horse has done it since Affirmed in 1978. Today, Funny Cide is trying to win racing triple crown. Josie Karp is track side at the Belmont Park in Elmont, New York -- Josie.
JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm here and I am joined by one person whose spirits have not been dampened by all that rain, and that is Jack Knowlton. He is the managing partner of Sackatoga Stable. He's one of the 10 owners of Funny Cide. First off, just tell me about this weather and how you think it will affect your horse today.

JACKSON KNOWLTON, CO-OWNER, FUNNY CIDE: Well, we know he can run on an off track, he did it at Pemlico, he ran well at the Wood Memorial, got beat by Empire Maker by half a length that day. We're not concerned about it. We feel bad for the fans. We wanted to have a record crowd here, and I think that probably isn't going to happen because of the rain, but everybody's enthusiastic and just waiting for the race.

KARP: You told me yesterday you weren't nervous, but you would be today. What are the feelings that you are experiencing now, and how does it compare to the previous two legs of the triple crown?

KNOWLTON: It really hasn't kicked in that much. The last couple of hours, is when it gets kind of crazy. We didn't expect to win a Derby, we felt we had a shot to win the Derby, but there wasn't the expectation that we would win. When we went to Baltimore, it was different. At that point we expected that we could win that race, and he ran a big race, and we did win it. Today we think this horse can win.

Obviously it's a tough field, even though it's small field. We got three real quality horses. I think you have to look at and say they're probably going to be the second, third and fourth favorites, but we know anything can happen. Seventy to one shot won last year, and you know, it is a horse race, hopefully he's going to be able to handle the track and handle the competition.

KARP: You stuck with tradition today, came over in the school bus, the yellow school bus and you told me it was a wild ride? What was so wild about it?

KNOWLTON: Oh, it was a wild ride, we had four school buses packed with family, friends and all the partners, had a couple of photographers, and camera people on there, just to get it, and the media blitz at the hotel, and when we got here was just incredible. None of us have ever experienced anything like that, and it's kind of a wild ride for all of us.

KARP: Well, Jack, thanks so much for coming down and leaving your party to come to talk to us. He's going to go back upstairs and talk to the owner of Secretariat, obviously one of the most famous horses to win the triple crown, and we will find out later today if there is going to be another one, named Funny Cide -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Josie, well, he is being optimistic about the weather, will there be any severe kind of conditions that could potentially cancel this race altogether?

KARP: No, that's unlikely, not the way that it is coming down right now, Fredricka. They're going to run this race, they are going to try to keep the track in as good condition as possible. They can do certain things. They can move some races off the track, they can pack it in and try to seal it. And there's a good chance that this will go off under muddy conditions, but it will go off.

WHITFIELD: All right, Josie Karp, thanks very much, at Belmont Park.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired June 7, 2003 - 14:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: No horse has done it since Affirmed in 1978. Today, Funny Cide is trying to win racing triple crown. Josie Karp is track side at the Belmont Park in Elmont, New York -- Josie.
JOSIE KARP, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, I'm here and I am joined by one person whose spirits have not been dampened by all that rain, and that is Jack Knowlton. He is the managing partner of Sackatoga Stable. He's one of the 10 owners of Funny Cide. First off, just tell me about this weather and how you think it will affect your horse today.

JACKSON KNOWLTON, CO-OWNER, FUNNY CIDE: Well, we know he can run on an off track, he did it at Pemlico, he ran well at the Wood Memorial, got beat by Empire Maker by half a length that day. We're not concerned about it. We feel bad for the fans. We wanted to have a record crowd here, and I think that probably isn't going to happen because of the rain, but everybody's enthusiastic and just waiting for the race.

KARP: You told me yesterday you weren't nervous, but you would be today. What are the feelings that you are experiencing now, and how does it compare to the previous two legs of the triple crown?

KNOWLTON: It really hasn't kicked in that much. The last couple of hours, is when it gets kind of crazy. We didn't expect to win a Derby, we felt we had a shot to win the Derby, but there wasn't the expectation that we would win. When we went to Baltimore, it was different. At that point we expected that we could win that race, and he ran a big race, and we did win it. Today we think this horse can win.

Obviously it's a tough field, even though it's small field. We got three real quality horses. I think you have to look at and say they're probably going to be the second, third and fourth favorites, but we know anything can happen. Seventy to one shot won last year, and you know, it is a horse race, hopefully he's going to be able to handle the track and handle the competition.

KARP: You stuck with tradition today, came over in the school bus, the yellow school bus and you told me it was a wild ride? What was so wild about it?

KNOWLTON: Oh, it was a wild ride, we had four school buses packed with family, friends and all the partners, had a couple of photographers, and camera people on there, just to get it, and the media blitz at the hotel, and when we got here was just incredible. None of us have ever experienced anything like that, and it's kind of a wild ride for all of us.

KARP: Well, Jack, thanks so much for coming down and leaving your party to come to talk to us. He's going to go back upstairs and talk to the owner of Secretariat, obviously one of the most famous horses to win the triple crown, and we will find out later today if there is going to be another one, named Funny Cide -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Josie, well, he is being optimistic about the weather, will there be any severe kind of conditions that could potentially cancel this race altogether?

KARP: No, that's unlikely, not the way that it is coming down right now, Fredricka. They're going to run this race, they are going to try to keep the track in as good condition as possible. They can do certain things. They can move some races off the track, they can pack it in and try to seal it. And there's a good chance that this will go off under muddy conditions, but it will go off.

WHITFIELD: All right, Josie Karp, thanks very much, at Belmont Park.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com