The 2003 Kentucky Derby was the 129th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 3, 2003 and was won by longshot Funny Cide. There were 148,530 in attendance.
Contenders
Sportswriter Steve Haskin called the 2003 Derby contenders a "perplexing group". The horses with the best form at age two all got injured while preparing for the Derby and ultimately missed the race. Instead, later developing colts dominated the final major preps in March and April. The clear favorite was Empire Maker, who had won both the Florida Derby and Wood Memorial. Empire Maker was at 6-5 on the morning line but drifted out to 5-2 by post-time based on concerns about a bruise to his right front hoof in the final days of training. Peace Rules was the second choice at odds of 6-1 after winning the Louisiana Derby and Blue Grass Stakes. Both horses were trained by Bobby Frankel, a Hall of Fame inductee who had never won a Triple Crown event. Other leading contenders included Buddy Gil, Ten Most Wanted, and Scrimshaw. Funny Cide was a moderate longshot at odds of 13-1. Bred in New York, Funny Cide won all three starts at age two in restricted stakes company and was named the New York bred champion two-year-old colt or gelding. When moved to open stakes company at age three, he ran fifth in the Holy Bull Stakes to Offlee Wild, second to Peace Rules in the Louisiana Derby and second to Empire Maker in the Wood Memorial. Sir Cherokee was originally entered but was scratched by the track veterinarian.
Full results
Brancusi, Peace Rules and Eye of the Tiger went to the early lead and set moderately-fast fractions of 22.78 seconds for the first quarter mile and 46.23 for the first half. Funny Cide was bumped at the start but moved into tracking position going around the first turn while Empire Maker rated in eighth place. Peace Rules went to the lead on the far turn while Funny Cide moved into second and Empire Maker into third. Turning into the stretch, jockey José A. Santos went to the whip and Funny Cide opened a clear lead, then held on to win by lengths. Empire Maker finished a head in front of stablemate Peace Rules for second. The time of 2:01.19 was the 10th fastest running in Derby history. The race set a number of firsts. Funny Cide was the first gelding to win the race since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929. It was the first time a New York-bred had won the Kentucky Derby. It was the first win for Santos in seven attempts, and the first for trainer Barclay Tagg. It was also the first major win for Funny Cide's owners, six friends from upper New York state who named their outfit Sackatoga Stable after their hometown Sackett's Harbor and favorite racetrack, Saratoga. "We are a three-horse stable," said one of the partners, Jackson Knowlton. "We are the little guys in the game. Everyone who dreams in this game, who owns two or five horses, look at what you can accomplish. Little did we know."
Finish
Program number
Horse
Jockey
Trainer
Odds
Margin
Earnings
1
6
Funny Cide
José A. Santos
Barclay Tagg
12.80
$800,200
2
12
Empire Maker
Jerry Bailey
Robert J. Frankel
2.50
lengths
$170,000
3
5
Peace Rules
Edgar Prado
Robert J. Frankel
6.30
lengths
$85,000
4
4
Atswhatimtalknbout
David R. Flores
Ronald W. Ellis
8.90
2 lengths
$45,000
5
13
Eye of the Tiger
Eibar Coa
Jerry Hollendorfer
41.50
lengths
6
8
Buddy Gil
Gary Stevens
Jeff Mullins
7.20
lengths
7
15
Outta Here
Kent Desormeaux
William Currin
39.70
lengths
8
14
Ten Cents a Shine
Calvin Borel
D. Wayne Lukas
37.20
lengths
9
16
Ten Most Wanted
Pat Day
Wallace Dollase
6.60
lengths
10
11
Domestic Dispute
Alex Solis
Patrick Gallagher
44.00
lengths
11
17
Scrimshaw
Cornelio Velasquez
D. Wayne Lukas
16.50
lengths
12
7
Offlee Wild
Robby Albarado
Thomas Smith
29.90
lengths
13
1
Supah Blitz
Rosemary Homeister, Jr.
Emanuel Tortora
43.10
17 lengths
14
9
Indian Express
Tyler Baze
Bob Baffert
10.80
lengths
15
10
Lone Star Sky
Shane Sellers
Thomas M. Amoss
52.10
20 lengths
16
2
Brancusi
Tony Farina
Patrick Biancone
29.30
21 lengths
Track condition: Fast Times: mile – 22.78; mile – 46.23; mile – 1:10.48; mile – 1:35.75; final – 2:01.19. Splits for each quarter-mile: Source: Equibase Chart
Payout
;The 129th Kentucky Derby Payout Schedule
Program Number
Horse Name
Win
Place
Show
6
Funny Cide
$27.60
$12.40
$8.20
12
Empire Maker
-
$5.80
$4.40
5
Peace Rules
-
-
$6.00
$2 Exacta: Paid $97.00
$2 Trifecta: Paid $664.80
$1 Superfecta: Paid $2,795.80
Controversy
On the Thursday after the race, the Miami Herald published a photo that supposedly showed Santos holding a "buzzer". The story became national news and prompted a meeting of the Churchill Downs' stewards. In the photo, there was a dark area between Santos' hand and the whip. The Associated Press subsequently published another photo that clearly showed Santos held no such device: the dark area in the original photo may have been the green silks of the runner-up Empire Maker. Santos was officially cleared a few days later. "I'm thankful this nightmare is over," he said. "A week ago was the happiest moment of my life, and then this photograph came along and nearly ruined my life."
Subsequent racing careers
Several horses went on to record Grade I wins after the Derby:
