‘What a ride.’ Second-oldest Kentucky Derby winner dies at 23 after years as fan favorite.

One of this century’s most beloved Kentucky Derby winners died Sunday at age 23, an underdog who nearly won the Triple Crown and raced until the age of 7.

Funny Cide, champion of the Run for the Roses and the Preakness Stakes in 2003, died due to complications from colic, the Kentucky Horse Park in Lexington announced Sunday morning.

The New York-bred, who raced for trainer Barclay Tagg, was a fan favorite at the Kentucky Horse Park’s Hall of Champions since his arrival there in 2008.

“He was one of those rare horses who captured the public’s imagination while he was on the track and continues to have a significant following of loyal fans,” said John Nicholson, then the horse park executive director, upon Funny Cide’s arrival. “We are honored that Funny Cide’s connections recognized the Kentucky Horse Park as a good fit for their horse and his fans.”

In 2003, Funny Cide became the first gelding to win the Kentucky Derby in 74 years. The son of Distorted Humor is still the only New York-bred to win the Derby, and he retired at age 7 with a record of 11 victories in 38 career races.

Funny Cide went on to win the Preakness Stakes before fading late and finishing third in the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown, on a sloppy track in New York.

He was retired from racing in 2007, having won more than $3.5 million. After that, he served as the stable pony for Tagg until being moved to the Horse Park.

Funny Cide’s owners, Sackatoga Stable, became famous for not being famous, for being a group of “Average Joes” who came to big races together in an old school bus.

“We are heartbroken at the news of Funny Cide’s passing this morning,” Sackatoga Stable tweeted. “What a ride The Gutsy Gelding took us on winning @KentuckyDerby & @PreaknessStakes. We are so grateful to @KyHorsePark for giving our guy a wonderful retirement. To say we will miss him, is an understatement.”

Bred by WinStar Farm with McMahon Thoroughbreds of Saratoga Springs, Funny Cide was the highest-earning New York-bred in history at the time of his retirement, winning nine stakes races, including the Jockey Club Gold Cup. He won the Eclipse Award for Champion 3-Year-Old in 2003.

Funny Cide arrived at Churchill Downs that year as the runner-up in the Wood Memorial and the Louisiana Derby. By post time, he was the seventh choice in a field of 16 at odds of 13-1. He beat the favorite, Empire Maker, by one and three-fourths lengths with Jose Santos aboard.

Funny Cide won the Preakness by 9 ¾ lengths over Midway Road as Empire Maker took the day off.

That added rest might have made the difference on Belmont Stakes Day when Empire Maker swept past first-place Funny Cide entering the final turn and went on to deny his Triple Crown bid.

“He either didn’t like the mud, or he didn’t like the mile and a half. I don’t know which,” Tagg said afterward. “The (pre-race) chanting from the crowd was nice. It would’ve been nice if we could’ve won. It was a frenzied experience, a nice experience.”

As a gelding with no future in the breeding world, Funny Cide continued to compete until age 7, winning his final career race on the Fourth of July in 2007 at Finger Lakes in New York.

Funny Cide is the second former Kentucky Derby winner to die in the past three months. Fusaichi Pegasus, winner of the 2000 Run for the Roses, died at age 26 in May.

Twenty Kentucky Derby winners are now still alive, the oldest being 1997 champion Silver Charm, who resides at Old Friends in Georgetown at age 29. The youngest, of course, is 2023 winner Mage.

Herald-Leader staff writers Janet Patton and Ben Roberts contributed to this article.