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Funny Cide Frenzy: Preparing for Belmont

Aired June 06, 2003 - 13:32   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.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
Now for the Funny Cide of the news. The stakes high for the Belmont tomorrow. The Belmont is the final leg, of course, of the legendary, fabled Triple Crown and Funny Cide is looking to make some history.

CNN's Josie Karp is live from Belmont. That's in New York. And how are you doing, Josie?

JOSIE KARP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm doing well, Miles.

You know, they're actually racing right now here at Belmont but you don't have the kind of crowd at this moment that we expect to have tomorrow at this time. As long as the weather holds off and there is not too much rain, they're thinking more than 100,000, possibly 120,000 people will come out here. You can bet that a lot of them aren't necessarily hardcore racing fans.

And that's because, Yes, there is a horse going for the Triple Crown. But this horse, Funny Cide, really seems to resonate with people. And one of the reasons may be that 10-person ownership group. And at the core of that ownership group are six guys who grew up at a tiny town in Upstate New York, Sackets Harbor, New York. These six guys went to high school together. And you can also bet that thoroughbred racing hasn't seen anything quite like them before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON KNOWLTON, CO-OWNER, FUNNY CIDE: When they look at the composition of our group that includes, you know, a retired math teacher, someone who worked for the utility company, me as a consultant, and people that are involved in construction. I mean, it's an awful lot of people out there, that's what they do in their life. And I think that, you know, they're seeing -- you know, here's this group -- you know, whether it was just pure luck or whatever -- I mean, they made an investment, $75,000 and they're now going for the Triple Crown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARP: As an example of just how, you know, these guys are really regular guys, look at how they get from their hotel on race day to the actual park. This started when they were going to Churchill Downs in Kentucky. They couldn't afford a luxury coach, so one of the resourceful members of that 10-person group hired a yellow school bus. Well, it started with one yellow school bus. It continued in Baltimore at the Preakness with two yellow school buses. And tomorrow, even though now they've won a little money, can probably afford something a little more luxurious, they will be taking four yellow school buses from the hotel here to Belmont.

And in case you're wondering, Miles, the beverage of choice on those school buses is bloody marys and Coors Lite for everyone -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: That's not like the school buses I rode, of course. I guess those are stretch school buses, right?

All right. Josie, very quickly, is this the year maybe? It's been 25 years now since we've seen a Triple Crown.

KARP: I think a lot of people feel like it is, for a variety of reasons.

One, because they want it to be. And two, because this horse has been so impressive throughout this run. And because it is a small field, his main competition appears to be Empire Maker, the horse that beat him out in the Wood Memorial. Looks like those two might go head-to-head. But I think you get a feeling just from everyone around horse racing that this is the year, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. It's lunch time for Josie Karp and crew. Thank you very much. Have a good -- you get all the good assignments, Josie. Enjoy it, all right?

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 6, 2003 - 13:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right.
Now for the Funny Cide of the news. The stakes high for the Belmont tomorrow. The Belmont is the final leg, of course, of the legendary, fabled Triple Crown and Funny Cide is looking to make some history.

CNN's Josie Karp is live from Belmont. That's in New York. And how are you doing, Josie?

JOSIE KARP, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm doing well, Miles.

You know, they're actually racing right now here at Belmont but you don't have the kind of crowd at this moment that we expect to have tomorrow at this time. As long as the weather holds off and there is not too much rain, they're thinking more than 100,000, possibly 120,000 people will come out here. You can bet that a lot of them aren't necessarily hardcore racing fans.

And that's because, Yes, there is a horse going for the Triple Crown. But this horse, Funny Cide, really seems to resonate with people. And one of the reasons may be that 10-person ownership group. And at the core of that ownership group are six guys who grew up at a tiny town in Upstate New York, Sackets Harbor, New York. These six guys went to high school together. And you can also bet that thoroughbred racing hasn't seen anything quite like them before.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACKSON KNOWLTON, CO-OWNER, FUNNY CIDE: When they look at the composition of our group that includes, you know, a retired math teacher, someone who worked for the utility company, me as a consultant, and people that are involved in construction. I mean, it's an awful lot of people out there, that's what they do in their life. And I think that, you know, they're seeing -- you know, here's this group -- you know, whether it was just pure luck or whatever -- I mean, they made an investment, $75,000 and they're now going for the Triple Crown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KARP: As an example of just how, you know, these guys are really regular guys, look at how they get from their hotel on race day to the actual park. This started when they were going to Churchill Downs in Kentucky. They couldn't afford a luxury coach, so one of the resourceful members of that 10-person group hired a yellow school bus. Well, it started with one yellow school bus. It continued in Baltimore at the Preakness with two yellow school buses. And tomorrow, even though now they've won a little money, can probably afford something a little more luxurious, they will be taking four yellow school buses from the hotel here to Belmont.

And in case you're wondering, Miles, the beverage of choice on those school buses is bloody marys and Coors Lite for everyone -- Miles.

O'BRIEN: That's not like the school buses I rode, of course. I guess those are stretch school buses, right?

All right. Josie, very quickly, is this the year maybe? It's been 25 years now since we've seen a Triple Crown.

KARP: I think a lot of people feel like it is, for a variety of reasons.

One, because they want it to be. And two, because this horse has been so impressive throughout this run. And because it is a small field, his main competition appears to be Empire Maker, the horse that beat him out in the Wood Memorial. Looks like those two might go head-to-head. But I think you get a feeling just from everyone around horse racing that this is the year, Miles.

O'BRIEN: All right. It's lunch time for Josie Karp and crew. Thank you very much. Have a good -- you get all the good assignments, Josie. Enjoy it, all right?

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