Operator:� Good day everyone and welcome to today�s NTRA National Media teleconference � road to the Visa triple crown.� Today�s call is being recorded.

 

������������ For opening remarks and introductions, I�d like to turn the cal over to Eric Wing with the NTRA.� Eric, please go ahead.

 

Eric Wing:� Thank you very much.� good afternoon or good morning everybody depending on where you�re listening to this NTRA National Media teleconference.� I�d like to remind everybody that in about 24 hours the transcript of what we say today will be available on ntra.com.� I�d like to thank our friends at Visa for sponsoring these calls and also the folks at equibase for sending the media past performances for (horses) who will be discussed today.

 

������������ First like to tell everybody that contrary to what we had advertised earlier � unfortunately, (Bob Lewis) will not be able to join us on the call.� (Bob) is under the weather today and passes along his regrets, but he says he�ll see you in Baltimore.� Later on in the call we will have Jackson Knowlton, the lead partner if you will, in (Sackatoga Stables), which is a very happy bunch these days.� We�ll also check in with Dennis Brida, the Executive Director of the (New York Thoroughbred Breeders, Inc.), to see what funny sides victory may have done in a positive way to that program, and we�re also going to be attempting to reach out to Bobby Frankel.� It�s been reported on (bloodhorse.com) that although (Frankel) has seesawed a little a bit that it appears Empire Maker will definitely not run in the Preakness.� We will attempt to have (Bobby) on later in the call to verify that, but first up.�

 

������������ We�d like to bring in the man of the hour, or perhaps or should say the man of the fortnight, and that would be trainer Barclay Tagg.� Barclay, it�s Eric Wing in New York.� Congratulations belatedly, and thanks again for joining us on the call.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Thank you Eric for this �

 

Eric Wing:� Barclay, gosh, the first time you were on these calls was to promote Funny Cide appearance in the (Sleepy Hollow Stakes) as part of (New York Showcase) day.� I guess a lot�s happened since then.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Yes, it has.

 

Eric Wing:� Barclay, first of all � to get the housekeeping out of the way for the benefit of the media listening � what�s the latest on when you and the gelding are planning to ship to Baltimore, and have you decided yet whether you�re going to stable in the (Stakes) barn at Pimlico?� There has been some talk you might stable over with (Mary Eppler) on the backside.� What do things look like at this point?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I really haven�t decided (whether) to paddock the horse here on Saturday, which is the opening Saturday for Belmont, and I�m hoping there will be a bit of a crowd just so that he can stay used to that.� And if that goes all right and he stays on his feet OK, then I�m going to (breeze) him for his first, last, and final breeze for the Preakness on Tuesday, and then I�ll make all those decisions after I get him out of that � but I really don�t have anything solid just yet for those two decisions.

 

Eric Wing:� And you alluded to the walk over � to the paddocking section and indeed one of Funny Cide most anxious moments on Saturday wasn�t in the race but in the walk over, and I saw you and (Robin Smullen), you know, doing whatever you could � shaking the reigns, and trying to get him back together.� Was that incident � first of all, how worrisome was it to you at that point and time?� Did you feel like he was in the process of leaving his race in the pre-race festivities, and is that � what � exactly why you�re doing what you�re on Saturday?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I can�t say it caught us off guard, because I�ve trained a lot of horses and I�ve had them act differently at different times, but he�d never shown any � any inclination toward that type of thing.� I always thought he was probably the most poised and mature three year old you could possibly ever hope for, but he did get pretty upset going over there � and fortunately, by the time we got through the tunnel he just settled right down again � as soon as he got into the paddock of the saddling and all that.� We were able to make a couple turns in the paddock and get his saddle on and all that, and he had calmed down quite a bit � and that�s a very good sign.

 

������������ The bad sign is that they do it all, but when they do it and settle down before they get to (jockey-up) and everything else and their settled in the post (parade), that�s a very, very good sign.� So, knowing that, it made me a lot happier to see him settle before it was all over.� Because a lot of horses that � if they kind of fall apart on the way to the paddock, why, they just get worse and worse and worse, and they don�t run their race.� But when they get a little upset and then they take it all in and start to relax again (right), it�s a very, very good sign.� Fortunately, he did that, but it did make us quite anxious for a few minutes there.

 

Eric Wing:� Yes, and if he didn�t run his race in the (derby) then the Preakness �

 

Barclay Tagg:� I �

 

Eric Wing:� � Preakness opponents are in trouble if he didn�t.

 

������������ Barclay, we made the point on the last pre-derby call that so far each race in Funny Cide�s three-year-old campaign has been a little bit better than the previous one.� Not that you have much choice in the matter, but does the two-week turnaround concern you?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Oh sure, it would always concern you.� It would concern anybody with a nice horse because most horses I think � my opinion is when you�re running that kind of competition you take a lot out of your horse.� I mean they�re strenuous races because they�re the best of the best that are running against each other, and I think most any trainer would like to have best part of a month in between those kinds of races.� So, this does punch it up a bit, but that�s the way the Triple Crown is, and you just have to grin and bare it if you want to stick with it (still).

 

Eric Wing:� All right Barclay, well, enough for me � lots and lots of media members listening along with us so let�s throw it back to our announcer, (Abe) in Kansas, and we can hear what the media have for you.

�

Operator:� Thank you Eric.� Star one � star one on your touch-tone phones if you would like to signal to speak to Mr. Tagg � star one � and I�ll pause a second just to let everyone get in � and Mr. Tagg, your first question is going to come from Debbie Arrington with the Sacramento Bee.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Congratulations Barclay.� How are you and the horse holding up this past few days here?

 

Barclay Tagg:� The horse is holding up very, very well, and I get a little agitated � and I can�t get my work done � but other than that, I guess it�s a good thing.� It�s a nice thing to have happen to make you agitated because a lot of worse things (do it too).

 

Debbie Arrington:� Oh for sure � and how many horses do you have in your barn?

 

Barclay Tagg:� I�ve got 19 and � 19 or 20 I can keep in this barn as a general rule.� So, I�ve got about 19 here right at this � at this day.

 

Debbie Arrington:� And when you won the (Sleepy Hollow) last year, did you ever think that this horse would be a (derby) winner?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, he was pretty impressive in his first two races, and then (Sleepy Hollow) we had tried a tactic of covering him up a little bit and giving him some experience being in the pack � and it almost backfired on us but he was able to pull it off � and we found that he had a throat infection after that race.� So, we think he had a couple of excuses for not being brilliant in it, but I was still very, very (high) on the (horse).� I have to admit that.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Best of luck.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Thank you very much.

 

Operator:� Next question will come from Eric De Grechie.� He�s with the Saratogian.

 

Eric De Grechie:� Hey Barclay, how are you doing?� Were you surprised to find out that Empire Maker isn�t going, and with the small field, how do you see things playing out?

 

Barclay Tagg:� I don�t know.� I � you know there will be some (inda feed houses) in there.� I think it�s kind of a (speed-favoring) track, and I � but I think � I think my horse ought to like it too.� I have no idea how it�ll play out because that�s up to each individual jockey and his trainer what their plans are and then what happens when the gate opens, but I would like to � I would like to see us kind of run about the same kind of race.� Just (start the face) and hope it all fall together for us.� I mean we just had a lovely trip in the derby, and I was very pleased with that � and I think he was moving forward.� Anyway, he ran well so you know I�m thinking if we can � if we can duplicate a lot of that situation � why it might � might make it a � exciting.

 

Eric De Grechie:� Were you surprised that Empire Maker is not going?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Not really, I think he�s probably � you know (Bobby) is very conservative.� (Bobby) likes his horse, and he takes good care of him � and I don�t think he�d do anything to injure his horse and he�s probably a little concerned maybe the foot hasn�t quite healed up enough yet or something like that.� I don�t know.� I don�t know.� I haven�t spoken to (Bobby) since the race.� I have no idea�

 

Eric De Grechie:� Yes.

 

Barclay Tagg:� � what the problem was or anything else, but I would imagine he probably needs a little more healing or something.

 

Eric De Grechie:� Thanks a lot Barclay � good luck all right.

 

Operator:� We�ll now go � Tom Pedulla at the USA Today.

 

Tom Pedulla:� Yes, Barclay, you�ve made a reference to the great trip.� You got him a derby � wanted to ask you about Jose Santos� role in this horse�s success and just your thoughts on Jose as a rider in general.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, Jose started right out with the horse, and he liked him right off the bat � and he told me he thought he was the best two-year-old he had ever sat on and � you know that�s impressive.� I mean Jose is world-class rider, and he�s ridden an awful lot of horses � and so that helps you cling to what your own beliefs are.� You know Jose and I are good friends, and he�s a very, very good rider � and he�s certainly done well with this horse and he knows him better than anybody.� I think I�m in a good position with him.

 

Tom Pedulla:� (Are) there anything � is there anything you can attach to as far as his career resurgence?� I mean he was down there for a period of time.� Any thoughts on what went wrong and now what�s going right?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I don�t really know much about that.� I didn�t use him quite that much in those days, and he was kind of monopolized with another trainer (and a lot of) things like that � and I don�t know what all that was to tell you the truth.� I mean I � I don�t even want to speculate on that.� I have no idea (too).

 

Tom Pedulla:� OK, all right, thank you.

 

Barclay Tagg:� You�re welcome.

 

Operator:� We�ll now go to Mike Brunker with NBC Sports.com.

 

Mike Brunker:� Barclay a lot was made about the long streak of geldings not winning in the derby, and I was just wondering if you think � is a gelding in any sort of a disadvantage with � in these (triple crown) races as far as not having maybe the thighs that he might if he was still intact and maybe just from a trainer�s point of view could you talk about any differences � any tendencies I guess in handling colts and geldings � how they differ � how they�re similar.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, my experience with racehorses is � I�m all for geldings � probably, 98 percent of them should be (gelded).� I just think they focus better.� They make a better racehorse.� I don�t think it has anything to do with growth or size or anything else.� There�s a lot of big strong geldings out there, and some of the greatest racehorses we�ve ever had � (Dr. Fager), who might have been the greatest.� (John Henry) won the (Santa Anita Handicap) when he was nine years old, and he was a (turf) horse who � (turf specialist) � but the (Santa Anita Handicap) is on the dirt.� (Forego) was a magnificent gelding.� You know they were all big, and they were � well, they weren�t all big, but they were all strong � and they were all successful and they all stayed sound in to late � late in a � late in a career for a racehorse.

 

������������ And, I think gelding them also keeps some of that (bulk) off their front end, which makes it a little easier on their front legs for what we ask them to do.� We put a rider up over their (withers) with (them like), and there�s a lot of weight up front anyway.� Horses usually have about 65 percent of their weight over their front legs, and that gets heavier as they mature when they�re (whole) horses.� But the gelding, (it) kind of levels them off a little bit, and I think that helps them keep (sound) quite a bit.�

 

������������ I don�t think it takes any of the fire out of them or anything else.� I think (it�s) just makes them focus, and they run their races.� I think they make great racehorses really.� I mean I didn�t plan on gelding this horse.� I didn�t geld him.� He was gelded when I bought him, but I really don�t have much against that � and � I mean I wouldn�t spend a half of a million dollars for a horse that was a gelding, but in the price range we were searching for horses for, I didn�t think it made any difference.

 

Operator:� Anything else there Mr. Brunker?

 

Mike Brunker:� No, that�s good � thanks.

 

Operator:� All right thank you.� If your question has already been asked and answered, you can remove yourself from the queue by pressing the pound key � pound key if you would like to remove yourself from the queue.

 

������������ We�ll now go to Tom Keyser at the Baltimore Sun.

 

Tom Keyser:� Hey Barclay, how are you doing?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Fine thank you.

 

Tom Keyser:� Barclay, this � the morning after the derby we were talking about the possible (field) in the Preakness, and you were saying that you thought that probably people might think that Funny Cide just got lucky and horses might come out of the woodwork here � and right now, the field is like at about six or seven.� Are you thinking that there still will be some kind of a flurry of late entries in the race?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, that was just my (theory) ((inaudible)) you asked me (that) question, but then (Joe Defachis) came along and was kind of enough � that a friend of his had an airplane � and they flew us home a day early � and (Joe) was telling me then on the plane that he was � he was pretty sure it was going to be a pretty small field.� And that was the first � you know that was the first thing that made me think that I was wrong about what I was thinking (so) you know.� It doesn�t really matter to me.

 

������������ A small field, you have less chance of getting in trouble, but it still happens � and you know you have to position yourself a little better sometimes in a small field because everybody is going to be really going for it, but I don�t really know what to make of that.� I just thought that probably if Empire Maker (didn�t go) to the (field) he�d really (bulk) up, but evidently it hasn�t.� So, I don�t know what the deal is there.

 

Tom Keyser:� Well, I mean when I look around I don�t even know where the healthy three year olds are.� I mean so many have been hurt.� Do you think that�s why their just � their just not out there (and enter)?

 

Barclay Tagg:� It very well could be.� You know.� I mean every time you picked up the paper coming up to the derby � why there were horses falling by the wayside.� So � but you know.� They�re very frail animals, and we�re asking an awful lot of them, and it�s very, very hard to get into these kinds of races.�

 

������������ I mean I�ve just been lucky.� I mean we�re work hard on our horses, and we try and take good care of them � but anything can happen any day or night.� You can come in, in the morning, and find something wrong with them.� So, I�m certainly not criticizing anybody that had something gone wrong with their horse.� I (had) plenty of things go wrong with my horses, but so far, I�ve been very lucky with Funny Cide.

 

Tom Keyser:� Thanks Barclay.

 

Barclay Tagg:� You�re quite welcome.

 

Operator:� We�ll now go to Jennie Rees at the Louisville Courier Journal.

 

Jennie Rees:� (Hi) Barclay, the 75,000 you paid for this two year old in March by a young sire � would it have made any difference in the price one or the other the fact that he was a gelding versus had he not been gelded at that stage?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, what I said before was when you�re looking for horses in that price range, I don�t think it makes any difference.� It didn�t make any difference to me anyway.� I mean my people were looking for New York bred, which I like, and I couldn�t help but like this horse.� He was a fine looking horse, and we�d seen him several times in his progressive growth from November to like March � and we just liked the way he was going and he was still available, but the price had gone up a bit because he was doing so well.� I still thought it was a fair price to pay.

 

������������ You know.� Like I said before, if you�re buying $500,000 and more expensive horses, things like that, well naturally you don�t want them to be a gelding because it puts you at an economic disadvantage if they can�t run or something or if they get �

 

Jennie Rees:� Yes � right certainly, but all things you know being equal, had the horse been a � been a colt at that point would it � would have gotten 85 for him � would have made any difference, or he�s still a $75,000 horse.� Based on (would have been) �

 

Barclay Tagg:� I would be guessing.� Whatever I said, I would be guessing, but I would he would still be a $75,000 horse at that juncture.� I mean he was by a new sire who didn�t � you know nobody knew anything about him really until like the day after we bought this horse.� I think he had his first big winner or something like that.� I forget the statistics, but you know he just bloomed right after we bought this horse.� He became a very popular sire.� His horses are running well.

 

Jennie Rees:� Yes.

 

Barclay Tagg:� So, you know that would have had more of an affect on it I think then the gelding.

 

Jennie Rees:� One other thing, (Tony Everard) said that � you must have talked to him I guess after the (wood end) before the derby �

 

Barclay Tagg:� Yes.

 

Jennie Rees:� � and then he � and he � and you said to him � you were talking on the phone saying I think I�m going to win the Kentucky Derby.� Do you recall that conversation?

 

Barclay Tagg:� I don�t remember �

 

Jennie Rees:� And he �

 

Barclay Tagg:� � I�m not � I don�t remember saying that, but I might have.� I just don�t remember saying it.

 

Jennie Rees:� Yes.

 

Barclay Tagg:� But (Tony�s) a very optimistic Irishman so � and I�m a very pessimistic American or English descent or whatever I am � but (Tony) and I are opposites on optimism and pessimism.

 

Jennie Rees:� Yes, well, one other question � he says he has two two-year-olds for you that are still down there �

 

Barclay Tagg:� Yes.

 

Jennie Rees:� � and one�s a New York bred.� Is that for Jack, or is the other one for Jack?

 

Barclay Tagg:� (Now you are French for Jack).

 

Jennie Rees:� OK, thanks a lot.

 

Barclay Tagg:� You�re quite welcome.

 

Operator:� We�ll now go up to Albany, Matt Graves, the Albany Times Union.

 

Matt Graves:� Well, they are already answered one of my questions Barclay, but the thing that I wanted to bring up is that you ran the tenth fastest derby in history � and obviously, that�s probably scared away some of the (fence) sitters.� What�s your take on that?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I was pleased with that.� (Time) is a funny thing.� It only counts when you�re doing it for the whole thing, but you know I (reckon) only barrier is the track condition each year and things like that.� I mean I � you know you can scrape a track (down and) break a track record anytime you want to almost, but � so I don�t really � I try not too much credence in that.� It�s nice � it�s that it was a fast time or if it was a track record or close to a track record or like the tenth fastest time out of 129 races or something like that.� That�s all very nice, but I try not to put too much stock in it, (and I) think winning is more important than how fast they get.� So �

 

Matt Graves:� Second part, do you think now that Empire Maker is out that you will (be) the (favorite?

 

Barclay Tagg:� There again, I have no idea.� There�s some � probably some quick horses going to be in there, but I don�t � I don�t know.� I�m not a gambler.� I guess somebody else (will) have a better take on it than I would.

 

Matt Graves:� OK, thanks a lot, good luck.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Quite welcome.

 

Operator:� We�ll now go down to New Orleans, Bob Fortus of the New Orleans Picayune Journal.

 

Bob Fortus:� Barclay, I just wanted to ask about the owners � if you think it might be easier to train for just regular people like these guys as opposed to maybe some of the big name outfits that expect to win the derby every year?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I tell you these are wonderful, wonderful guys to train for, but I�ll pay � I�ll train for anybody that pays their bills and is nice to me.� I mean I�m just to hold to want to be beat up on all the time and that kind of stuff so I try and ease those kinds of owners as politely as I can, but if people are nice to me and they�re cognitive of the� � that I�m honest and I�m working hard and trying to do what�s best for them and their horse, if they�re cognitive of that, I�m happy � and as long as they pay their bills, well, I�m grateful to have them as owners, but if they�re going to second guess you all the time and (them) not paying their bills and stuff like that I do not want them.

 

Bob Fortus:� So they�re pretty much � you�re pretty much calling the shots in � with this particular horse?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Yes, these guys have been wonderful.� They�re just wonderful people, and they�ve (left) � you know most of the decisions up to me and my staff, and they just couldn�t be nicer to train for.� I think that�s why I was so successful for them because they just � they just � they�re just great.

 

Bob Fortus:� Thank you very much.

 

Barclay Tagg:� You�re welcome.

 

Operator:� Next up � Mike Kane with the Schenectady Gazette.

 

Mike Kane:� Hi Barclay, can you talk about � you�re doing something that�s completely out of character for you � or the way you describe it � as running a horse (back) two weeks after he just ran a hard race.� How are you approaching this?� What are you doing with the horse?� Have you talked to anybody that�s got this experience about what to do?� Can you just give us some � explanation of your mind set with this horse?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I�ve � you know I�ve been doing this for a long time now, and I think I�ve got the experience � and I think I know what I�m doing, but (with) other people�s opinions and things like that and people I respected have had opinions and � but really I�m just trying to go as easy as I can (within and) fit in the one (breeze).� I think I can only get one (breeze), and even � that�s all I really wanting.� I think that�s all (he) should really need �

 

Mike Kane:� Yes.

 

Barclay Tagg:� � and I�m just doing it pretty conventionally, I think.� I don�t think it�s really an odd approach.� I think it�s just a typical conservative, hopefully sensible approach.� That doesn�t mean it�ll work, but it worked last time.� So �

 

Mike Kane:� OK, can you tell us just how the horse has reacted in the last few days?� Was he quite tired on Sunday?� Just tell us about his � the way he�s acting, the way he�s eating, all those kind of �

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I � when he got here, we put him away of course, and actually, I wasn�t here yet.� (Robin) and I showed up a couple hours after he got here, and you know.� We took him out for a graze.� He was standing on his hind legs and biting everybody and having a grand time.� He � actually, I�m just tickled to death.� He�s been very, very relaxed and very happy and very (like) full of (pep) also.� You know, and we just walked him morning and walked him afternoon and grazed him a bit for the first three days.� Then yesterday we gave him a jog once around the track backwards.� Belmont Park is a great big track so that�s a mile and a half rather than just a mile like on most tracks, and we did the same thing today.�

 

������������ Because I usually take them back to third or fourth day depending on the horse and the race and that kind of thing, but of course (he had) a big shift in the middle too and all that kind of stuff � but he seemed like he was eating well.� I came in this morning about 4:30, and he was sound asleep � with all the commotion in the barn going on, the stalls being (mucked) out � and the next time I got to look at him close was six o�clock, and he was still asleep.� So, I don�t think he�s tired though.� I think he�s just happy about the whole thing.� He�s relaxed about the whole thing, and he was very nice to take out.� He � we let him kind of gallop and jog around the track backwards again today � and just enough to get some � mile and a half under him � loosen him up a little bit without a whole lot of stress and strain.�

 

������������ I don�t think you can get him any fitter between now and next Saturday.� So, I think we just have to kind of maintain the edge and keep him as fresh as possible.� I mean nobody likes � as I said a little while ago � nobody likes a horse (back) in two weeks against this caliber of competition.� It�s one thing if you�ve got (cheap claimers) and you�re just jogging them in the barn a little bit and keeping them (light) exercised and their eating OK.� You know you can get away that kind of stuff, but with horses of this caliber running against the top (thing) you know you�d love to have three weeks to four weeks in between their races � but the way the (Triple Crown) comes up you just can�t do it.� So, if you win the first leg, you have to go for the second leg no matter when it is.

 

Mike Kane:� My last question is can you just talk about (Robin Smullen) a little bit and about what she�s done with the horse and what do you think are her strengths as a horsewoman?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I think she�s got all the strength to be a horsewoman really.� I mean she�s just � she�s just an exceptional horsewoman.� I mean she can � she could train a large (string) of top-class horses anytime someone was willing to give them to her.� She�s just an excellent horsewoman.� She�s got a great memory.� She�s had tons of experience.� I mean she was born in a (horse) family and riding horses since she was a year old I guess, and she�s � you know she�s � but she�s exceptional.�

 

���� ��������She�s trained on her own at minor tracks and things like that, but you know people don�t rush out to give women horses to train.� And it�s a shame, but that�s the way it is � but she could handle just about anything that was handed to her I�m sure.� I don�t think there�d be any doubt in my mind.� I mean she�s very, very perceptive.� She can ride a horse and tell you whether its left foot is sore or its right hind foot is sore or whether its hearing is bad or whether its breathing is bad or whatever it is.� I mean she�s very, very perceptive.� I mean she�s � I�ve never seen her wrong so you know.� She�s a great asset to me.

 

Mike Kane:� Is � has she taken to this horse anymore than any of the other horses in your barn?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, sure � who wouldn�t?� You know.

 

Mike Kane:� I mean before last Saturday.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Oh, yes, absolutely.

 

Mike Kane:� OK.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Yes.

 

Mike Kane:� OK � and what were the � you hired her about six years ago or so?� Was that � did you know her � much about her before then?

 

Barclay Tagg:� I�ve known her, her whole life.� I mean she � she was raised not far from where my children were raised and stuff like that, and I�d � you know I�d seen her in horse circles and stuff like that, and we�ve known her.� We just got together one time down at (Gulf Stream), and just been together for about six years now.

 

Mike Kane:� OK � thank you, that�s all my questions.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Quite welcome.

 

Operator:� We�ll now go to Bill Christine at the Los Angeles Times.

 

Bill Christine:� Oh, hi Barclay, I imagine you had some good days and bad days at Pimlico over the years.� Are there any highs and lows at that track that might especially stick out in your mind?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, I mean � I had a lot of good years in Maryland.� I mean Maryland was good to me.� I really enjoyed it there, and you know I�ve had so many highs and lows.� I�d have to sit down and write them down I guess to remember them all, but I enjoyed Pimlico � a lot of tradition there and everything and I enjoyed it a lot.�

 

������������ I mean I love training horses there.� I can�t think of any particular highs and lows.� I mean I�ve had horses break legs on the track, and I�ve had horses win big races on the track.� So, you know, but that�s just day-to-day stuff.� It just never lets up on you, and there�s always more lows then there are highs.� There�s no way around that.� You�re dealing with � like I said before � very fragile, big, strong animal � that�s very fragile and we�re asking him to do something that was kind of contrary to what they were � the way nature made them.� So, you got a lot of (ways), and I�ll tell you that.� But, nothing sticks out in my mind as Pimlico or any other track about the lows, and I won a lot of races (there).� I used to win a lot of (undercard races Preakness day), and I had some really good little fillies running there and stuff like that.� I had a lot of fun at Pimlico.�

 

Bill Christine:� Have you seen most of the Preaknesses as a spectator during the years you were there?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Yes, I�ve probably seen � after I started training, I�ve probably seen everyone in the last 30 years.� I can�t remember exactly unless I had to run a horse down at Pimlico one of those days, but nothing sticks in my mind like that.� But, when I had real bad horses I used to crawl up on the barn roof by the (5H) bowl with a couple of other � and the guards would yell at you and all that, but it was a great place to watch the Preakness.�

 

������������ Other than that, I usually had a horse on (gender cart), so for years it always seemed like I had a horse who (cued) a run right there, so that involves you pretty much in things.

 

Bill Christine:� Did you see Secretariat�s Preakness?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Yes, I did.

 

Bill Christine:� And what were your impressions of that race?

 

Barclay Tagg:� I thought it was incredibly impressive.� I mean he � whenever you see a horse circle the field on the outside on the first turn and then go on and win the race, I mean, that�s � for me that�s just a sign of (wonder) � or an overpowering animal that can do something like that, and I thought it was an incredible race.� I thought it was � I thought it was as incredible as the one when he one the Belmont by 31 (lengths), but that gave me goose chills just watching that race, but the race at Pimlico is just about as extraordinary.� It�s an extraordinary horse.

 

Male:� Thanks Barley.

 

Barclay Tagg:� You�re welcome.

 

Operator:� And Mr. Tagg, our final question comes from Bob Summers of the Buffalo News.

 

Bob Summers:� Barclay, my horse (playing) friends and I keep books on the trainers, and over the years you�ve got a reputation as a very strong man with a shipper.� You�re always to be feared when you come from out of town, and now you�ve won the ultimate � with the ultimate shipper.� Do you have any particular secrets or techniques or routines that you follow when you ship horses, or is it just a matter of reading the condition books out of town?

 

Barclay Tagg:� I like to ship as close to a race as I can.� I don�t think that hurts the race, I think it probably benefits them, and it has worked for me many times.� I remember shipping from Laurel to Saratoga for years and years and years at my stable at Laurel.� I�d always ship up if I had a race to run in Saratoga, I�d ship at ten o�clock at night and get there at six o�clock in the morning and I�d give them a little gallop on the little training track they have there right by the main track.� It was a nice, soft, safe kind of track, and just was something to loosen them up without pounding them at all.� And then we�d do the usual routine of let them rest all day and ice them before they�re racing.

 

������������ I won a lot of races that way, and I�ve kind of always stuck to that.� I couldn�t always go as late as I wanted to, like with the Derby and all that, the only place I could get down there was on Wednesday or I would have gone a little later to that, but it worked out just as well because I got a � you know, a lot of chances to get him used to some of the things down there.� So � but I really like to ship late.� That�s one thing I like to do.

 

Bob Summers:� When�s the latest they�ll let you ship into Pimlico?

 

Barclay Tagg:� You can ship into Pimlico the morning of the race if you want.

 

Bob Summers:� Do you plan to do that or �

 

Barclay Tagg:� I don�t know.� I really don't.� I�m not trying to be evasive, I just don�t know yet.� Like I said, I�m not too � I want to paddock him on Saturday here for � they�re opening Saturday, I think they�ll be a pretty big crowd, and I want to get him involved in that again a little bit., and I want to (breathe) him on Tuesday, if all of this comes together � I mean if they�re calling for horrible weather on Tuesday I might go Monday, but Monday or Tuesday I�m going to (breathe) him, and then I�ll make all the decisions sometime after that.

 

Bob Summers:� OK, thank you very much.

 

Barclay Tagg:� You�re quite welcome.

 

Operator:� And gentlemen, we have no other questions at this time.

 

Male:� All right, Barclay, before we let you go, and I thank you for your patience in answering all the questions, you are planning to be at the post position draw, correct?

 

Barclay Tagg:� I was planning to, but I might now.� Jack can handle that.� (Mr. Knowlton) can handle that very well, and I�m just heavily involved up here right now, and I�ve got a tremendous amount of things to do, and this two week squeeze between races is � has pushed me a bit and I might just avoid that and let Jack take care of that.� I�m not sure.

 

Male:� OK, well in any event, you know the Pimlico strip better than most.� Is there any post position that would particularly suit you or particularly not suit you at Pimlico even with a short field?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, with this particular horse I�d rather have it inside than an outside ((inaudible)).� I mean, the six � there were six horses, and six (had) bad post either, but I just prefer to have this horse in closer than that.

 

Eric Wing:� OK.� Also, I must grudgingly admit that it looks like you made the right move in passing on the NTRA Great State Challenge last December, Barclay, but I believe I read in the paper that you never were interested in going to the Derby without a real good horse.� You�d rather stay home and watch it on TV and have a drink.� How did you celebrate your victory Saturday night in the Derby?

 

Barclay Tagg:� Well, we had a whole bunch of press conferences and had to go see the governor there of Kentucky and go to the convention center and a bunch of things.� I mean, I never saw my horse until like 9:30.� I mean, it just � I was just drug from here to there and everything else.� I mean, I just � I didn�t have a chance to do anything.�

 

������������ We finally got back to the barn at 9:30, and we told the men not to make the feed until we got back there so then Robin made the feed and we fed the horse, and then we found out we had to go to another party, but we were � we were ready to just call it a night, but then Jack called and said they were on the 25th floor of the � I guess he had told me there was a party and I just put it completely out of my mind.� I was happy about the Derby, of course, and we were dead tired and starting to let down a little bit, but then we drove up to the other side of town and joined them for a party for about an hour with them.� We went home and didn�t stay very late.� I�m not a big socializer.

 

Eric Wing:� Well, and as crazy as it all was I�m sure you hope it repeats itself a week from Saturday.

 

Barclay Tagg:� I certainly do.

 

Eric Wing:� Barclay, thanks again for your help, not just today, but in all the weeks leading up to the Derby, and best of luck a week from Saturday with Funny Cide and (Sacatoga) Stables.� And here�s wishing good racing, luck for leg number two of the Visa Triple Crown.� Thanks very much.

 

Barclay Tagg:� Thank you.� Thank you very much.

 

Eric Wing:� Barclay Tagg, trainer of Funny Cide, we�d like to remind people they � the transcript of what we � what we are discussing today will be on the NTRA.com at about 24 hours from now.� And the post position draw will be televised live on ESPN from five to 6:00 a week from yesterday, next Wednesday.

 

������������ Just an update, it appears that we still haven�t made a connection with Bobby Frankel, though he�s now saying that if he�s going to make a decision with Peace Rules and Midas Eyes for the ((inaudible)) he�ll probably pick one or the other, but not both, especially given the fact that they�re owned by the same man, (Edmund Gann).

 

������������ Speaking of owners, we�re happy to now welcome in Jackson Knowlton, the managing partner of (Sackatoga) Stable.� Jackson Thanks very much coming on the call with us.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, thank you very much.� It�s a pleasure to be here.

 

Eric Wing:� Jackson, if I were fortunate enough to have been one of your high school buddies, how much would it have cost me to buy a share in Funny Cide a year or so ago?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, we ended up with the way we structured our partnership was five shares, and three of us have a full share.� Two of the fellows split a share, and my five old high school buddies split a share.�

 

������������ So if you would have been one of them, we capitalized him at $85,000 so we�d have just a little bit of, you know, cushion to pay the initial bills before he raced and like that.� So I think that, you know, we�re talking, you know, 4 percent of $85,000 around probably $3,500 or so.

 

Eric Wing:� All right, well, still too expensive for me anyway.� And we know Barclay doesn�t take kindly to owners who don�t pay their bills.�

 

������������ Jackson �

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Just call me Jack.

 

Eric Wing:� Jack, it seems like, you know, first of all, Funny Cide won the (Bertram Bongard) last year as impressively as a two year old can win a race.� And granted, that seems like a long time ago in a relatively minor stake, but the question I have for you is it seems like no horse, no two year old or young three year old can win a horse impressively � can win a race impressively these days without getting a lot of offers from � it seems like Mark (Reed) has his eye on every good young horse that�s out there on behalf of Bobby Frankel.� Did any offers come down the pike for Funny Cide either as a two year old or a as a three year old, and if so, when?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� We actually had an offer after he broke his maiden by 14 � in its first race in early September.� Don (Brouwer) was on the phone the next day.

 

Eric Wing:� Well, and you guys were a group of admittedly modest means, and you�re looking at a profit after, you know, just one race and after a few months how difficult was it to not take that offer?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� It was very easy, you know.� We were in this from the beginning to have a good time, to enjoy horse racing.� We never expected we�d have, you know, the horse that we have.� I mean, our goal really had always been, you know, to buy New York bred and, you know, in a price range up to $75,000.�

 

������������ We felt that, you know, when you spend between 50 and $75,000 for a New York bred you�re in the relatively upper echelons of New York bred, and felt that, you know, that strategy might find us at some point fortunate enough to get a New York stakes horse that could run in some of these nice New York stakes and restrict it and be able to, you know, at least breakeven.� I mean, we never went into this making any kind of an assumption that we would make money.� If you look at the statistics, you know, there�s only about 50 percent of the dollars that go out in purse money that go in to support the horses in terms of, you know, both the initial capitalization and the ongoing expenses.� So that was really kind of our, you know, business plan if you want to call it that.

 

Eric Wing:� Jack, what�s the mindset of our group right now?� Is it � is it � is it you conquered the world and anything that follows is gravy or is it time to get the game faces back on and start worrying about the Preakness and maybe even the Visa Triple Crown?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, we�re, you know, just caught up in (fill) and all the excitement.� I mean, the media exposure has just been incredible.� New York State has kind of been taken by storm.� We have an invitation to go down to the capitol, all of the owners and Barclay and Jose Santos, Robin Smullen, on Monday.� Both houses of the legislature are going to be passing resolutions in honor of Funny Cide and his connections.�

 

������������ We�ve had all kinds of media up in my old hometown of (Sackets) Harbor.� I think very shortly it�s going to overshadow the fact that it was a key battle in the war of 1812 and Funny Cide has just put it back on the � on the map.� And Saratoga, the mayor is hosting a party Monday evening at our favorite Saratoga watering hole, (Ceros).�

 

������������ So there�s just so much going on.� We�re, you know, kind of enjoying the moment, but at the same time, you know, my role as managing partner working with all my partners and all the other people that want to go to the Preakness and, you know, working with Pimlico and getting tickets.� They�ve been doing a great job in, you know, meeting our requests so far, and that will continue over the next few days.

 

Eric Wing:� If you win the Preakness I imagine the requests are going to turn into demands come Belmont time.� Jack, lots of media listening on the call with us so at this point let�s throw it back to (Abe) and take the writers� questions for you.

 

Operator:� Thank you, Eric.� Again, star one if you would like to speak to Mr. Knowlton.� Star one on your touch-tone phones.�

 

������������ Our first question is going to come from Matt Graves who�s at the Albany Times Union.

 

Matt Graves:� Hi, Jack, how you doing?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Good, Matt.

 

Matt Graves:� All right.� What did you think when you heard that first of all that Empire Maker was probably not going to go, and secondly that the field was going to be one of the smaller ones we�ve ever seen?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, I think, you know, kind of like Barclay in terms of field size pretty surprised.� I mean, you read comments after the race a lot of people were skeptical, you know, even though the horse did win.� We certainly thought he ran a pretty good race, and, you know, being the tenth fastest, as Barclay said, doesn�t tell you everything.� ( A 108) Beyer seems like it�s pretty legitimate for a Kentucky Derby win.

 

������������ So really thought that, you know, there would be, you know, some fallout, but I personally expected there�d be, you know, between eight and 10 horses in the race.� In terms of Empire Maker, you know, I think I said a couple of days ago, you know, we at the moment, after one race at least, are kind of king of the hill and, you know, they�ve got to come and beat us now.� But obviously, you know, he is a tremendous horse, and the fact that he isn�t running I don�t think you can in any way argue that, you know, that isn�t to our benefit.

 

Matt Graves:� Right.� Great.� Thanks, Jack.� Good luck.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Thank you.

 

Operator:� Next up, Jim Price at the Fort Worth Star Telegram.

 

Jim Price:� Jack, I guess to be real simple about it there are kind of two facets in horse racing, people who just really enjoy going out to the track as it seems like you and your group are, and then the group that�s very involved in breeding and (spelling) and (pinhooking), and all that sort of thing.� Do you ever see yourself getting interested in the breeding, commercial side of racing?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� No, we�re in this game to enjoy ourselves and have fun.� Throughout, you know, the nine including Funny Cide and now as you heard earlier we bought another horse, you know, that Barclay recommended through Tony (Everard) down at New (Epsil) Training Center.�

 

������������ We have predominantly looked at, you know, two year olds in training.� The first horse we bought was an un-raced three year old.� Since then I think with only two exceptions, one claiming mare that was in Barclay�s stable that we bought from one of his other owners for $3,000 because we needed a horse and Barclay really thought it would be a good horse for us.� And then we bought a yearling, it�s a New York bred sale that Funny Cide initially sold at.

 

������������ But other than that, I mean, we�re kind of looking for instant gratification.� We feel that, you know, two year olds that are, you know, ready to get to the race track are really what we�re interested in.� It gives Barclay an opportunity to � and Robin as well � to see these horses, to have an opinion whether they�ve a chance to be a good race horse in the New York bred circles, and that�s really what we want to do.�

 

������������ I mean, the breeding is a whole different game, and I�ll be honest, it�s, you know, it�s kind of enough of a challenge to, you know, manage a 10 person group, you know, just on the racing side.� But to try and take that to another level and get into breeding or something like that is, you know, not something that I�m interested in and I don�t think any of my partners are either.

 

Matt Graves:� If you�re going to the race track this summer in Saratoga and you�re going to the race track and you don�t have a horse then, what�s a day at the races like for you and your partners?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� I�ve missed one day in the last two years at Saratoga.� I just love going to the races at Saratoga.� I thoroughly enjoy going to the races anywhere.� I think it�s just a wonderful sport.� I enjoy wagering a few bucks on these horses and the challenge of handicapping.� I will go on many weekends to Saratoga Equine Center where they have simulcasting.���

 

������������ One of my partners, Gus Williams, has what he calls his horse house in Saratoga Springs.� And Gus, in addition to being up, you know, during the summer comes up just about every weekend on Friday afternoon, goes simulcasting Friday afternoon, Saturday afternoon.� And then when I�m in town that typically becomes part of the routine.� So we, you know, stay very involved in horse racing 52 weeks a year.

 

Matt Graves:� There are a lot of horses who are successful and retired after the three year old season, and obviously this is going to be a different deal.� Has it sunk in on you yet or do you � do you realize what�s coming that this horse could be quite popular with the public because he�s going to keep showing up at the race track if he stays sound?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, were � that�s it.� I mean, we�re, you know, just talking and praying that, you know, he is able to stay sound and I�ll say I don�t think that he could be in better hands than in Barclay�s hands.� He has just done a tremendous job with this horse getting him through, you know, some of the typical two year old problems like buck shins.� And he wasn�t going to, you know, do anything and he�s never done anything that isn�t in the best interest of the horse.�

 

������������ He knew that we all were just dying to win a race at Saratoga and, you know, be able to do that with Funny Cide.� We missed Saratoga by five days.� I mean, Barclay is just so conscientious and I think he knew, you know, if we could�ve gotten that horse in the race at Saratoga, New York bred made and raced that was probably going to be the race we could win at Saratoga.� But he didn�t, you know, deviate from what he felt was the right schedule for the horse, and you know, I just, you know, continue to give him an awful lot of credit for that.

 

������������ So I think that, you know, if we can keep him, you know, going for a few years really the potential is almost unlimited.� And to be honest, you know, yes, if, you know, he were a colt right now we�d be getting, you know, multi, multi million dollar offers for him to be a stud and that would make our lives more difficult because we�re not, you know, a group of, you know, wealthy people overall where somebody puts a couple million dollars in front of us it doesn�t mean anything.�

 

������������ But, you know, I think, you know, we have the opportunity to have just an awful lot of fun with this horse, and, you know, if all goes well we�ll also, you know, benefit financially.� But it�s not going to be the one shot syndication kind of thing that so often happens, and we�re getting a sense that, you know, he may become the peoples� horse.

 

Matt Graves:� Thanks.

 

Operator:� Our next question will come from Mike Brunker at NBCSports.com.

 

Mike Brunker:� Kind of on the similar lines, do you look back now and find yourself thinking of what might have been if he hadn�t been a gelding when you purchase him?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� We really don�t.� You know, as Barclay said, when you�re looking for New York bred race horses in, you know, kind of our 50 to $75,000 range top you�re not thinking that you�re ever going to have any, you know, value as a stud.� So, I mean, the fact that he was a gelding, you know, we really never discussed that fact.� I mean, Barclay didn�t say, �Well, you know, do you want to spend that much despite the fact that this horse is a gelding?�

 

������������ II mean our approach has typically been with Barclay, you know, and like the NFL draft, many times, best available athlete, you know, whatever you can find, Barclay, if it's a filly, if it's a colt, if it's a gelding, we don't really care.� If you like the horse, you know and it's within, you know, our means to purchase it, let's go ahead and do it.

 

Male:� Thank you.

 

Operator:� We'll now go to Debbie Arrington at the Sacramento Bee.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Congratulations.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Thank you.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Is Funny Cide Breeders Cup eligible?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Yes.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Great.� OK because it's out here in California.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Right.

 

Debbie Arrington:� We're very much looking forward to it.� How did you get interested in horse racing when you were growing up?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, really, my first exposure was when I was a senior at (Modesto) College and there was a harness track, probably, about 50 or 60 miles from the campus and late in my senior year a few of us went up and went to the races and from there, I went to graduate school in Albany.� My wife had an aunt and uncle who are just tremendous race fans, I mean racing was their life just as the fans and gamblers and we used to go to Saratoga Harness way back when, this was around 1970, Green Mountain Race Track in (Pownal) Vermont was open and they had thoroughbreds over there.� It was kind of like a Finger Lakes, maybe, equivalent of today not the top horses and that was really my initial exposure and we had a lot of fun, met fun people and you know, got into, you know, betting a few bucks and handicapping and all that.� So that was really during the decade of the 80's.

 

������������ Then I moved down to Washington area for a year in 1980 and '81 and came back up and took a job with the Legislature in New York and a couple friends of mine who worked there said, you know, wouldn't it be fun if we put together, you know, the three of us and throw in $1,000 and you know, find out where we can get a harness horse, $2500 it would cost us, so that was really my first ownership and the horse didn't get to the race track.

 

������������ Then we moved to Saratoga, the wife and I and our two children in 1984 and through a friend of ours we were introduced to Frank (Coppolla) Jr. who was one of the leading drivers and a trainer at that time and we put together what we called the Breakfast Club Stable.� I was kind of the managing partner and we'd have anywhere from four to six people throw in a few bucks and buy some horses and I think we had anywhere from one to, you know, four or five horses.� The end of that in '93, we had some success.� We had a horse that actually won a top race at Saratoga Harness that year, it was a $40,000 purse and two horses that � not all with us but some other people, they had them after we did, they both won about quarter of a million, so.

 

������������ Then there was some issues at the track and one of my partners moved, another one past way and that kind of fell apart and then everybody, I think is familiar with the story with the guys from Sackets and how we got going.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Very good, best of luck.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Thank you very much.

 

Male:� Next question will come from Mike Kane at the Schenectady Gazette.

 

Mike Kane:� Hello Jack.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Hi Mike.

 

Mike Kane:� My question is � today is about Barclay.� Do you spend a lot of time talking to him about what his plans are for the horse and ask him why or is it just you sit and listen and he tells you?� How � can you describe that relationship?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Yes and Barclay and I have, I think, an excellent relationship.� Communicating with Barclay has never been a problem and this goes back to, you know, the time when we were certainly � did not have the start of a stable.� I mean we've had, you know, pretty cheap horses that we've had, you know, modest success with, for the most part, although Del Monte did very nicely for us when we her.

 

������������ You know, we discuss what is going on.� What he's doing.� Oftentimes he will kind of expound upon his philosophy and his reasoning for doing things and I think can say in total honesty there's only been one time since we've owned this horse that there's been any kind of difference of opinion with regard to Funny Cide and that was he didn't want to go to the Great State Challenge and the owners really did want to go but other than that, I don't think � and could ask him, I don't think that there's ever been one decision that needed to be made that you know, there was a disagreement between the two parties.

 

������������ We collaborated after the (Holy Bowl) in Florida, in terms of talking about what route do we go, still looking at the wood, being encouraged that despite a very tough trip, he ran a game race in the (Holy Bowl), he and I sat down for about half an hour in the back stretch of � in the back yard at Gulf Stream on a beautiful sunny day that Sunday and talked about the pros and cons of, you know, going to the Fountain of Youth, going to Louisiana Derby or going to the Florida Derby and came to, you know, an agreement that you know, it probably wasn't a bad idea to go to New Orleans and that's what we did.

 

Mike Kane:� I asked him a question a few minutes ago about walking into the unfamiliar territory of trying to wheel a horse back in two weeks and you know a big race against good company and how he was approaching that and (then) asked that question, you may have heard the answer but my question is then, have you folks spoken a lot about what's going � what's happening from May 3rd to May 17th and how � what they're doing?� How's that dialogue?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Oh yes, I mean Barclay, you know, is always in communication with me.� You know we know, you know, when the horse is going to work.� You know he told us about paddocking the horse at Belmont.� We talked about, you know, when he's going to ship.� At one point it kind of seemed like it might be Wednesday but, you know, now I think that he's just keeping his options open, wants to see how the horse handles, not only the paddocking but his work, presumably, will be on Tuesday and as I said to Barclay, you do whatever you want to do.� I mean you just won the Kentucky Derby and you're not going to get, you know, any questioning or any argument from us.

 

Mike Kane:� Thank you Jack.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You're welcome.

 

Operator:� Next question comes from Rachel Blount at the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

 

Rachel Blount:� Thanks for being on the call Jack, its fun to talk to you.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Oh, you're welcome.

 

Rachel Blount:� I had a question, again, relating to hanging on to the horse.� I know that you have declined offers in the past but I'm curious to know, have you and your partners, really, established a pretty emotional connection with this horse now and what kind of an offer would it take for you to say, gosh, we just can't pass this one up?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Speaking for my partners, there's no offer that anybody could make, I think that would separate us from this horse.� As I said, we're not in it for the money.� I mean yes, is it great to win the Kentucky Derby and an $800,000 purse and you know, we're, you know, now kind of organizing, you know, some commercial ventures, you know, with Funny Cide and sell some products and like that but I mean this is a once in a lifetime horse for people like us and you know, as we talked about earlier, if, you know, everything works out, we could be enjoying this horse for another four, five, six years and I mean it just doesn't get any better than that.

 

Rachel Blount:� And do you guys have a connection with him?� Do you visit him on the back slide?� Do you feed him peppermints, anything like that?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You know, for the most part, the horse has been a long way away from us.� You know he wintered down in Florida.� One of our partners, (Eric Datner), lives in Long Island, so when the horse is at Belmont, Eric is over there quite a bit and he has an opportunity to, you know, see what's going on and participate more than any of the rest of us do but when he's at Saratoga for those six weeks, (Lou Tinerton) and I, Gus Williams, the three of us are, you know, around constantly and get to, you know, pet him and do the things like that.

 

Rachel Blount:� Great.� Thanks so much.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You're welcome.

 

Male:� Next up Bob Summers from the Buffalo News.

 

Bob Summers:� Jack, hi.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� How you doing?

 

Bob Summers:� Good.� Over here in the western part of the state, New York breds don't enjoy really great reputations, basically, because the cheaper ones all come over here to race at Finger Lakes and I'm sure you, as a simulcast player, you probably heard some of the jokes about New York breds, yet you insisted on getting into the New York bred program, why did you do that?� Why didn't you just consider open company horses?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, I think the ads that you see, New York bred start with an advantage is really our mind set.� I mean again, we're not buying horses for multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars or $1 million.� We can't play, you know, at the higher levels with the folks that are buying those kinds of horses and when in you're in open company, those are tough, tough races.� Our approach has always been, if we can spend $50,000 to $75,000 or less, in some cases, on a New York bred, if you can get through your three New York bred conditions, you know, pick a second or third somewhere along the line, you've got close to $100,000 in purse money and you know that really has been our approach.� If you're lucky enough to get a nice New York bred and can run in some of these stakes, you know, they used to be, you know, the minimum was 75, they just raised those now to $100,000, you have an opportunity to you know have some success and that's really what our approach has been.�

 

������������ You're right.� I mean there are a lot of New York breds that you know, certainly when you watch them race and we have them, you know, on an (IRA) circuit, as well, they're not great race horses but you know, in a sense that encourages us because we hope, you know, through Barclay and now through Tony (Eberhard) that we've got a couple of people that really have a good eye for a horse and if we're able to, you know, just have the level of success that you know, we aspire to, you know, getting these New York breds, at least get them through their conditions and then maybe every once in a while get a New York bred stakes horse that's really nice and as well, you know, the bonus program.� I mean we ran second in the Wood, picked up a purse of 150,000, we're getting a $15,000 bonus and that's not too shabby either.

 

Bob Summers:� There's, of course, the New York Derby over here July 26th, is there any � they'd love to have you, is there any thought of adding that to your program?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, it's kind of funny, after Funny Cide ran so well in the Wood was talking with Barry (Schwartz) and he commented, he says, oh I guess we won't see you running in any New York bred races any time soon, so I guess I have to say, now after winning the Kentucky Derby, there's not too much likelihood of that but there are going to be a few folks out there, you know, like Spite the Devil and Grey Comet that probably are pretty happy to hear that.

 

Bob Summers:� OK, thank you very much and good luck.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You're welcome.� Thank you.

 

Male:� Next up Bob Fortus at the New Orleans Times Picayune.

 

Bob Fortus:� Jack, I just wanted to ask you, you made a point of talking so much about how much fun you and the other owners are trying to have with racing, I was wondering if the decision to come to New Orleans had to do with where the race was being run to any extent.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, I think it was a combination of factors.� One of my partners, Gus Williams and I have been coming to that race for the last five years, so we were really no stranger to the fairgrounds or to that race, so certainly, you know, from that standpoint, I think everybody enjoys New Orleans but there really were a couple of things that when Barclay and I discussed, you know, whether or not that was a race that we should go to or not.� One was the timing factor.� We really liked the fact that that race would give us five weeks before the Wood.� The Wood was always Barclay�s target.� If the horse showed that he was good enough we wanted to go to the Wood Memorial.� Barclay is a big supporter of New York racing, we are, obviously, as well, so we kind of worked backward from there.

 

������������ The second factor and this may be the one that when I, you know, had the discussion with Barclay that that really, you know, made the decision pretty firm and that was, we'd just gotten burned with a 13-post in the (Holy Bowl) and you know that just resulted in a terrible trip.� Our horse, we thought, ran a game race but really had no chance.� We were thinking, you know, if we go to New Orleans and it's a big field and we pull an outside post again, we could scratch and go back and run in the Florida Derby as a back up.

 

������������ So those two things and then one other thing that we agreed upon, was, you know, fairgrounds racetrack has a reputation as being a very kind racetrack for the horses.� We use that, you know, to a smaller extent and knowing that it has the longest stretch of any race track in America and hoping that Funny Cide would have to face that long stretch at Churchill Downs, we thought it would be a good preparation for him.

 

Bob Fortus:� Thank you.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You're welcome.

 

Male:� Next up Bill Christine at the Los Angeles Times.

 

Bill Christine:� Jack, the � at the time the six of you, I guess, put up the $30,000 to start this whole thing, what year was that and who called who at that time?� How did the six of you, physically � actually get together?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� That was 1995 and Ivan in Saratoga, the other five fellas lives in Sackets Harbor, New York and we were up there for a Memorial weekend party.� We were � it's one of the guys houses and you know kind of talking and talking and all of a sudden, you know, the idea popped up and these guys had been exposed to, you know, my, you know, 12 or so years in the harness business, everybody used to come and stay at my house, you know, sometime during the four or five-week meet, as it was then at the flat track at Saratoga.� So they knew what was going on in racing and knew that I'd been in the game a bit and we said what the heck, you know, let's throw in $5,000.� You know that's not a lot of money and maybe we could just have some fun, so that's really what happened.

 

Bill Christine:� In other words, you all went home from the party and nobody forgot about the next day.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Absolutely not.

 

Bill Christine:� And had the six of you been together over the years?� I mean since you had left school?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Oh yes, I mean my wife's family still has a lot of people up around Sackets Harbor.� My parents until my dad passed away in '88, my folks lived up there, so we were constantly going up there because of family but in addition to that, we've stayed very, very close to our friends in Sackets Harbor.� My wife and I both went to high school there and a lot of the people that � you know that we went to high school with of either state and (Scakacyber) like those partners or in the case of (Larry Rinehart) in Watertown.� We've got a lot of friends in the area.� And it's only three hours from Saratoga.� We enjoy going up there and you know that really is probably the group of people that we are closest to.� Unlike a lot of people, they stay in contact with their college friends.� Really our main contacts are with our high school friends.

 

Bill Christine:� Are you retired?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� No, I'm trying to run a healthcare consulting business in Saratoga, but I have to say it's been pretty tough this last week or so.

 

Bill Christine:� Yes, Thanks, Jack.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You are welcome.

 

Male:� We will now go to Saratoga.� Eric De Grechie, the Saratogian.� You line is open.� Mr. De Grechie?

 

Eric De Grechie:� Oh, I'm sorry. Hey, Jack.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Hi, Eric.

 

Eric De Grechie:� How was your sandwich yesterday?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Hey, it was great.

 

Eric De Grechie:� You what, I was wondering have you been to Pimlico before?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� I've gone to, probably a dozen, Preaknesses.� You know, the one race that � you know, big race that I don't get to very often, � this is only my second derby, but we've going to the Preakness, probably for the most part, you know, since 1980 or so.�

 

Eric De Grechie:� What do you think of the course?� What do you think of the track...?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, you know, � I have to be honest.� If we were good enough to compete in the Triple Crown, I had thought that the Preakness was probably the race that we might have the best opportunity to win.� Really, given the fact that this horse has, you know a good deal of speed.� He can be around the front end.� Watching, you know, the Preaknesses in the past, you want a horse that's got some speed.�� You don't want to be too far to back in most of those races.

 

������������ So I always felt good about that. Plus, you know, the field size, typically is diminished quite a bit, you know, compared to the derby.

 

Eric De Grechie:� Thanks a lot sir.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You welcome.

 

Operator:� And Mr. Knowlton, our final question is going to come from Jennie Rees at the Louisville Courier Journal.

 

Jennie Rees:� Jack, bottom line � this is obviously hypothetical, but your are glad that the horse is gelding.� That you don't have those multi-million dollar offers that would maybe make life a little more difficult for you?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, you just look at the money people spend to get a nice horse.� And we've got one.� And there is nothing that would tell me, you know, even if we had millions of dollars, that we are every going to find one that is as nice as this.� So why don't we enjoy him?� I mean there, you know good purse money out there.� It's certainly not the kind of money that you are going to get through syndicating a horse for, you know, $15 million like they did � I think. But you know, we will have an opportunity and I think that all of our partners, you know, � yes, we certainly are going to enjoy divining up, you know, a good portion of that check we are going to get from Churchill Downs tomorrow.� But we are having fun.� And that's the most important thing.

 

������������ This horse is already allowed us to go places and do things that, you know none of us would have expected we would be able to.

 

Jennie Rees:� And you don't have to worry about getting offers from a Turkey or Saudi Arabia and your Derby winner ending up overseas.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� That's absolutely right.� I mean, you know, as Barclay said, you know, in the best of all possible worlds, he would be able to stay sound, be competitive for a number of years.� And I think he could, you know, kind of become one of these legendary horses.

 

Jennie Rees:� One other thing.� I understand � you had a filly claimed for a horse comes to $65,000. And that's where the money came that you bought Funny Cide with.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Yes, $62,500.� I mean and that was either in late February or March last year down at Gulfstream.�� It was bail money.� The horse that we had bought initially from one of (Barclays') other owners.

 

Jennie Rees:� Yes. And so this two-year-old that you have in Florida now � is that you're only two-year-old, or do you have any other ones?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� No that's the only one.� We will be looking probably at the Fasig Tipton, sale of Maryland, right after the Preakness.� Although, to be honest with you, I haven't even dared mention that to Barclay yet.� I think we talked about it probably about three or four weeks ago, well before the Kentucky Derby.� And you know, that, � there are about 100 New York bred's in the sale.� I know, I just very quickly just skimmed the catalogue.� And it is something that I need to talk to Barclay with.� But he's just got, you know, so many things going on.� I almost hesitate to do that.

 

Jennie Rees:� But you are sticking to your game plan at the New York Breds.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Oh, absolutely ...

 

Jennie Rees:� ... not changing with the $800,000 that you are picking ...

 

Jackson Knowlton:� ... no, no, no.� NO.�� I mean, we just, really, really, support the New York Bred program. And we've had a lot of fun discussions with (Joe McMann) and some of the other breeding people, saying � you know, you guys better find us some nice horses.� You know, we've put you on the map.� Now, you know, work with us, and let's keep us on the map too.

 

Jennie Rees:� Good deal. Thanks a lot.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� You are welcome.

 

Operator:� And gentlemen we have no other questions at this time.

 

Eric Wing:� OK. Jack, it's been a pleasure listening to you answer all the questions. And before you go, just a couple of more from my end.� First of all, could you tell us the names of the others in your group and what they do for a living?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Sure. (Gus Williams), he is a retire building contractor. (David Mahan), lives in Watertown Connecticut.� He owns a big catering business that specializes in weddings.� (Lou Titterton), is a businessman from Saratoga Springs, who owns a couple of health care facilities in the Hudson Valley.� (Eric Datner), is a retire engineer.� Lives down in Great Neck, Long Island.� And then the five partners from (Saccus Harbor).� (Harold Cring) is a partner in a construction business.� (Peter Philips) works for (Harold).� (Larry Rinehart) also works for (Harold).� (John Constance), owns a optical business in Watertown.� And � missing my one last partner here in that group � (Mark Philips) is a retire teacher.

 

Eric Wing:� Very good.� Now, kind of like a horseplayer who hits the trifecta in the first race and then kind of bets too much money the rest of the card, because he's got all the ,you know, � he's flush too soon.� Are you worried, or have your partners discussed whither you are going to go, you know, attack these upcoming sales with abandon, now that you've had this windfall.� Or are you going to try to play it close to same strategy you've used up �til now?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� We are going to keep the same strategy we have.� You know, we will do a distribution, you know, when this check from Churchill comes in. And you know, after the share to the jockey and to the trainer and the other things that come out, but we are, you know, certainly going to keep some money in the pool.� You know, we are looking to have, you know, a four or five horse stable.� You know, we don�t, you know, have any intention of growing above and beyond that.� I mean the one thing that it may allow us to do, is, you know, if we, you know, get a horse that, you know, after it either gets to the races or it�s going to take a lot more time to get to the races.� You know, we maybe able to jump in and pick up another horse because we've got the resources to do that.� But we are not looking to, you know, become a big stable.

 

������������ Certainly, you know, the role that I play as managing partner, � it's you know, very, very much part time.� And you know, doing much more than we are doing now, I think would, you know, become kind of difficult.

 

Eric Wing:� Two quick Saratoga questions.� And you give yourself away as native when you call it the flat track.� Are you going to try make the fans there forget about four star (Dave)?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, certainly, would never want to do that.� And he's got a record that I don't think anybody is ever going to break.� I believe it was 8 years in a row.� He started at two, winning stakes races.� And he wasn't, � you know, a lot of those were races that were New York Bred stakes races.� We didn't get there at age two to win one of those.� And certainly, you know, if we run it at Saratoga and we will as long as he is healthy.� We are probably, you know, going to be pointing toward the (Traveers). And that obviously will be a major challenge.� Everybody is saying, you know, if some of these good horses come back, like (Taca), and (Sky Mesa) gets back on track, you know, it could be quite a race.

 

Male:� And lastly, � now you said that you missed one day of Saratoga racing in the last however many years ...

 

Jackson Knowlton:... last two.

 

Male:� Last two years.� Well, anybody who goes to Saratoga is often as you don't need to be told that there are legions of followers among the handicappers there, with (Barclay paddock).� I think he is one of the most deadly trainers; � whither it's a two year old first time starter, or a mile and half grass router.� Is that in any way how you first, kind of got attracted to him?� Or made an approach to him, or is that just a coincidence?

 

Jackson Knowlton:� No, we watched Barclay over the years.� And you know, for many of those years, he wasn't based in New York.� He would ship up a grass runner from Maryland. And they almost never ran a bad race.� And you know, and he came in, you know, under the radar screen.� The real sharp handicappers, new about it.� But the casual racing fans, said, well here's a, you know, a horse coming from Maryland.� A guy coming from Maryland, no way he's going to win.� And the next thing you know, he jumps up and the horse pays, you know, 15, or 25 or 35 dollars.

 

������������ I had talked to Barclay a couple of times.� You know, I would go over in the mornings and we were just � he was standing around watching one of his horses jog.� And you know, we just kind of got in some idle conversation.� I really liked, you know, what I was hearing.� And you know, we know a lot of people around the racetrack that, you know, work on the backside.� We asked opinions about, you know, who might be a good fit for us as a trainer.� And we heard (Barclay Tags) name a number of times.� So that was, you know, was part of the influence.

 

Eric Wing:� Well, Jack hardiest congratulations over what's happened in the last week or so.� And thanks for your time and indulgence here this afternoon.� And best of luck come Preakness time, and hopefully there after with Funny Cide.� We've really enjoyed having you on.

 

Jackson Knowlton:� Well, thank you very much.� We are tremendously excited about this as you can imagine.� And we are really looking forward to the Preakness.

 

Male:� Very good. Jack Knowlton, managing partner of Saratoga Stables.� Nobody heard of them a couple of weeks ago.� But the world knows about him now.� Before we get to our third and final guess we would like to report that (Mike Gathagan is confirming down at Pimlico, that indeed, Empire Maker will not run in the Preakness.� Quote from (Bobby Frankel): �He's not running�.

 

������������ Also we want to remind everybody that there is a very big three year old race down in Texas, the Lone Star Derby this Saturday.� And (Dynever), a horse that a lot of people think is a very big threat in the Belmont Stakes.� (Dinever) drew post five for trainer, (Christoff Climont).� (Edgar Prodder) will ride.� And that's a � unlike the Preakness, for which the field might be coming up a bit on the short side.� They drew a baker's dozens at Lone Star for Lone Star Derby. $500,000 to be divided up among the top five in a field of 13 there on Saturday at Lone Star Park.

 

������������ And lastly, we would like to remind everybody also that Funny Cide as we mentioned earlier, will be paddocking, or will be schooling at Belmont Park, between the second and third races on Saturday.� And if you are coming on out, by all means bring a friend, bring plenty of friends, because they would like a big crowd there to help prepare Funny Cide for the crowds and challenges that lie ahead in Baltimore at Pimlico Race course.

 

������������ OK. Now we are happy to welcome Dennis Brida who's also got to be a happy guy right about now. Perhaps not as happy as Jack Knowlton, but pretty close.� Dennis is the former trainer of course, who conditioned such greats as (Dixie Brass).� Right now, he is the executive Director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders.� Dennis it's Eric Wing here in New York.� Welcome to the call and congratulations.

 

Dennis Brida:� Thank you, Eric.� I'm happy to be here.� It certainly is a busy time for me.� And I was ecstatic about him winning, but I didn't know it was going to be that much extra work.

 

Eric Wing:� Well, Dennis lots of predecessors had promised a Derby winner, but you are the first to deliver.� What was your secret?

 

Dennis Brida:� Well, 128 years, so I don't know what.� I got a lot of congratulations for it.� But actually it's the horse and the program that did it.� And it doesn't come as a major surprise, because the New York Breds, have been getting better.� The connection has been getting better and the horses have been doing well.� I mean (Volponi�s) mother was a New York Bred.� A great day on Saturday.

 

Eric Wing:� You know, with all the talk about � not just the fact that he as a New York Bred, and therefore he couldn't win.� But he is gelding and therefore he couldn't win.� You are horseman, you know that is essentially voodoo.� That it, you know, it's not going to be the ultimate decision-maker, even a minor decision-maker.� But given your position heading up the New York Breeding program, is that talk always frustrating to you?

 

Dennis Brida:� Yes, there are certain stigmas attached to different things. And there was a little bit of a stigma attached to the New York program.� But you know, the same, (Spite the Devil) won.� We've had Carson Hollow.� (Private Emblem) won the Arkansas Derby last year.� Just a bunch of good horses running around critical eye.� And it was coming.� And this was the perfect opportunity.� And it was a partnership.� It's not any one state that does this.� But it became a state issue because he was the only New York Bred.� I mean, (Winstar Farm) was the official breeder.� They are from Kentucky.� The (Stinningworth's) from Kentucky.� The horse was folded in New York.� There are a lot of New York connections to it. And (Joe McMann) certainly deserves a lot credit for folding the horse on his farm.� But this was�� partnership between a few different groups. And from different parts of the country.

 

������������ New York gets credit, that's fine.

 

Eric Wing:� And Dennis, New York is getting the credit and rightfully so.� However, you just mentioned that Funny Cide is by a stallion that stands in Kentucky, (Distorted Humor).� Has there been some good natured razing going back forth, that , you know, the Kentucky folks, saying � well, it's really our horse, you know?� That type of thing?

 

Dennis Brida:� (David�s) wife did call me to congratulate me. And he said that he's going to change his speech from 128 Kentucky Derby were folded and raised in Kentucky.� And he is going to leave the folded out from now on.� It was some kind of � you know, I think that's fine.� And it is a partnership.� And I think that what's important here for New York is the fact that (Winstar) wants to breed a New York Bred.� And (Winstar) has several New York Breds that they've (partnershipped) with (Joe McMann).� Different people from Florida and from Kentucky have come to New York.� Some great mares have moved to New York to reap the benefits of the program.

 

������������ And a lot of the stallions from Kentucky wanted to have New York be breed to their stallions, not only for the MLS syndrome that happened here, but also because they get some advantages in the program in those restricted races that Jack talked about. So it's a good plan for everybody.� And that's why we have, you know, better quality horse being breed in New York.� It's at its hay day right now, but it could only get better.

 

Eric Wing:� Dennis, there is more that I want to ask you, but as you, there are plenty of writers listening with us, so let's through it back to (Abe) and see if they have any questions for you.

 

Operator:� Thank you Eric.� Star one if you would like to signal to ask a question of Mr. Brider.� Star one.� We will pause a moment.� Give everyone a chance to signal.�

 

We are going to stay in New York for a little bit.� We've got Nick Kling from the Troy Record.

 

Nick Kling:� Dennis,� you kind of touched on my question when you were speaking with Eric, but I guess it is � you know practically before Funny Cide was unsaddled on Saturday, the conventional wisdom was that the New York Bred� program has the benefit to tremendously by his victory. And I'm wondering if you can detail the reasons why that would be?� Does it mean that more or better stallions will come to be stabled in New York?� Or more mares will be shipped to Kentucky?� Or just what reason do you believe that it will be a benefit?

 

Dennis Brida:� A lot of reasons, (Nick).� And I think it's a good question.� I think that what it does is validate the fact that the New York farms, the New York breeders, the connection to New York are ready to � and can breed horse that's capable of winning a major, major race, national race.� All those things have been happening.� But it's never been the Kentucky Derby. And this kind of validates these facts that those kind of things can happen in New York.

 

������������ And we've had a influx of so many mares in this state.� Quality mares.� I think it's not a question of quantity anymore.� It's quality.� And New York has gotten some good breeders, like (Winstar).� We have some great trainers that are training New York Breds.� (Allen Gerkens), ran (Spite the Devil), bred by Mrs. (Gerkens) in New York.� And won the (Withers) on Saturday also.� That kind of is a footnote to the New York program now, with (Funny Cide) winning. But it still indicates that people are coming to the state with quality mares and bring the best stallions that they can find.� And the connections are here to accept those horses and make them, you know, win major races. And I think that's important.

 

Nick Kling:� Well, maybe a corollary question would be � you know there is a lot of good solid sires in New York, but as someone that is not really familiar with the breeding industry , I would have to say there isn't a, you know, a real marquee name in New York right now.� You know, do you think this will help get one in New York?

 

Dennis Brida:� I think that, you know, there has been some movement in the stallion area.� (Phone Trick) is here. (Judge TC) came this year.� I think we are ready for those young stallions that are very popular.� That are promising, like a (Distorted Humor).� I understand that (Mier Kausky) is coming to New York.� You know, to get these stallions before they are proven or disproven.� And if they are successful, they won't leave the state now.� Because I think what has happened, is the mare population has grown in quality.� So many people are going to Kentucky.� We can now support $50,000 stallion in New York.� We could support a $25 to $30,000 stallion without a problem.

 

������������ So as the mare population increases and we get better quality, the better stallions will find that it would be a lucrative venture for them to come to New York and stamp here.

 

Nick Kling:� (Phone Trick) got 70 mares at $25,000 a pop.

 

Dennis Brida:� So that's great.

 

Nick Kling:� Thank you very much.

 

Dennis Brider:� You�re welcome.

 

Operator:� Next question will come from Evan Hammonds; he�s with �The Blood Horse�.

 

Evan Hammonds:� Dennis, Jack mentioned the ad campaign, New York bred start with an advantage.�

 

Dennis Brider:� Yes.

 

Evan Hammonds:� What � is that your brain child?� Or you plan to get into that program?

 

Dennis Brider:� That�s the breeding and development fund, Joe (Spidaro), Martin Coscella, that�s the group that�s together by the state that controls the money.� They�ve done a great job promotion wise.� And when Jose Santos said on the horse right after the race �Get with the program.� New York bred, baby. I mean if we had � If we were very rich, that was probably worth a million dollars in an advertisement for the program.

 

������������ But you know the fund does that.� They pay for the promotions.� They�ve done a great job.� We work with them and certainly ((inaudible)) in the breeding and racing program, the slogan was not thought up by me, but it�s certainly a slogan that I use all the time.

 

Evan Hammonds:� OK.� One other quick question.� With the advent of slots, a lot of slot money down the road, what will that do for New York bred program?

 

Dennis Brida:� Well, we�re included in the VLT legislation as it stands.� Of course, it�s not passed yet, but if it comes through the way it�s written right now, we�ll be able to keep pace with the purses, with the purse structure.� We�ll be able to pay awards out at the same levels with the increased purses.� So it can only help the breeding program.

 

������������� It will only help it and you know I don�t think that the video levy term are a panacea for racing in New York.� I think that New York racing is doing fine as it is.� But it certainly going to be a little boost in the arm and it�s certainly going to help the breeding program.

 

Evan Hammonds:� Thank you.

 

Dennis Brida:� You�re welcome.

 

Operator:� We�ll now go out to California and Debbie Arrington at the Sacramento Bee.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Good afternoon.� How many New York bred�s are there a year?

 

Dennis Brider:� That is varied, but last year we had about 2,100 born.�

 

Debbie Arrington:� OK.

 

Dennis Brida:� And the foal crop has been increasing, but no dramatically.� I think it�s been increasing qualitatively you know a lot more.

 

Debbie Arrington:� And how much money do you have in the incentive program?

 

Dennis Brida:� The total incentive program, if we include the restricted races, comes out to over $40 million, just around $41 million.� In actual awards that we pay out, that�s probably closer to $12 million.

 

Debbie Arrington:� Very good.� Thank you very much.

 

Dennis Brida:� You�re welcome.

 

Operator:� And again, that is star one.� Star one if you would like to signal for question.� We�ll now go to Bob Summers at the Buffalo News.

 

Bob Summers:� Dennis, hi.� Could you explain to the reader that doesn�t follow horse racing what the New York breeding program means to the state�s, say in terms of economic impact and number of jobs that it provides?

 

Dennis Brida:� That�s a great question.� I mean, first of all, the whole program is funded without � not one cent from the New York State government.� And not one cent from the taxpayers.� It�s all funded from the industry itself.� All the money that�s generated for this program is generated by handle on races and handles at OTB�s and you know the legislation reflected that.�

 

������������ So that�s the good news.

 

Bob Summers:� ... horse players �

 

Dennis Brida:� Yes, that�s a good � that�s the good news. �And what it�s done is that the breeding � horse breeding industry and the State of New York and horse industry in New York is going to overtake the dairy industry this year as the number one economic impact crop in New York State.� And agricultural crop.

 

������������ So what happens is that when the dairy farms went out of business, in the 70s, and all that green space was going to go to who knows what kind of development, the government decided to create this program to more or less keep these working landscapes, keep the green space going and it was very successful.� We have over 410 farms now in New York.� We employ over 41, 50,000 people in the industry.

 

������������ So it has a tremendous economic impact.� With all the other alternate types of things that go on with horse racing, it has a tremendous impact overall.

 

Bob Summers:� Thank you very much.

 

Dennis Brida:� You�re welcome.

 

Operator:� And gentlemen, we have no other questions at this time.

 

Male:� All right.

 

Dennis Brida:� Good.

 

Male:� Dennis, before you go, I think it�s a little bit ironic perhaps that while this call was going on the grade three $100,000 Bold Ruler Handicap was drawn.� It�s going to take place Saturday at Belmont and the � I think one of the choices in the race to be ridden by Jose Santos is Say Florida Sandy, who I believe if I�m not mistaken is the richest New York bred of all time?

 

Dennis Brida:� Yes.� He � there�s a horse named Funny Cide that�s looking to catch him, but ...

 

Male:� Yes.

 

Dennis Brida:� He�s made over $2 million, SayFlorida Sandy, and he is the richest New York bred of all time.

 

Eric Wing:� And what Funny Cide�s already half way there, with $800,000 ...

 

Dennis Brida:� � we have a millionaire�s row at Belmont, which is � which we�ve had to add to Critical Eye to last year.� And if we have 15 horses on it now � made the 16th.� So we had to change it � it�ll be changed this weekend.

 

Eric Wing:� So there�s plenty of room at the inn there for more millionaires, right?

 

Dennis Brider:� Oh, yes.� We�re hoping for plenty of them.

 

Eric Wing:� Dennis, last question.� Maybe this is a hard one to answer, but in your opinion, is the biggest difference that this Funny Cide Derby victory will create, is it going to be tangible in terms of results at sales?� You know New York bred yearlings and weanlings and two year olds are going to bring more money at auction?� Or more � or in your opinion, is it more important to � that the public perception that�s going to be changed that may in fact lead to the tangible differences?

 

Dennis Brida:� Well, the surprising thing to us is that even before Funny Cide, all the sales for New York breds have gone up dramatically.� We had an average of 50,000 which was up from 30,000 the year before and in the New York bred preferred sale at Saratoga.� But all the last couple of years, even when the sales nationally were down and were less, that the monitored the New York breds and took the statistics and they were always up.� In every single sale, they sold for more money because they�re better quality, primarily.�

 

������������ But the New York breds are selling for more money and there�s more people like Jack Knowlton who have said �Hey, let�s take advantage of this extra money.�� There is an advantage to buying a New York bred and that is you have a $40 million bankroll that�s helping you along when you race in New York.� So if you haven�t intentions of racing in New York and being part of the game, Funny Cide, if he keeps sound and keeps running, there�s no telling how much money he can make extra from being in New York bred.

 

������������ So prior to him, but with him winning the Derby, I think that you�re right.� We expect to see some substantial increases and for good reason.

 

Eric Wing:� Well, very good. And Dennis �well, good news for everybody in the Empire State.� The owners, in this case the breeders too and jockey and trainer and right on down the line.� Congratulations on this success for your program.� And best of luck thereafter with breeding in the Empire State.� And as we know from Jack Knowlton they do start with an advantage.

 

Dennis Brider:� Thank you very much.� Get with the program.

 

Eric Wing:� That�s right.� Dennis Brider, Executive Director of the New York Thoroughbred Breeders.� And a happy man, more so since Funny Cide won the Kentucky Derby this past Saturday.

 

������������ Well, that�ll conclude today�s lengthy, but very enjoyable call.� Like to thank all three of our guests, Barclay Tagg, Jack Knowlton, and Dennis Brider.�

 

������������ A reminder that next week being Preakness Week, there will be no teleconference next Tuesday, unless extraordinary circumstances dictate.� But we�re not scheduled to have a teleconference next week.� Our pre-Belmont Stakes call will be on Thursday, May 29th � Thursday, May 29th for the pre-Belmont Stakes call.� That�s next up on our docket.

 

������������ Like to thank our producer here in New York, Joan Lawrence, also our announcer in Kansas, Abe Goteiner and his assistant there, Andy.� Also like to thank again the people at VISA for sponsoring the call.� And everyone at Equibase for sending out the PT�s for today�s horses or I guess I should say horse, as it turned out.�

 

������������ So glad you could join us today.� Look forward to being with you the next time and enjoy the Preakness.

 

������������ Thank you.

 

Operator:� Thank you.� That does conclude our conference call.� We do appreciate your participation.� At this time, you may disconnect.� Thank you.

 

END