At 11:27 on the morning Funny Cide Day was celebrated, the Weather Channel indicated 86 degrees and sunny. But outside the press box windows, the rains came. The star of the day, expected in three minutes, would have to battle the tractors with heavy floats behind, the maintenance crew working hurriedly to prepare the surface. For Saratoga 2003, the hits would just keep on coming.

While awaiting the appearance of the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, fans, oblivious to the elements, lined the paddock fences to catch a glimpse, many of them four or five deep, some protected by umbrellas, most not. The NYRA Store must be having a busy morning.

Racing fans' devotion to this storied place and its hometown race horse was heart-warming to see. It was reminiscent of the black and white newsreels of another era when horseplayers by the thousands showed up to greet the Seabiscuit train as it rolled up to the siding. The horse, for horse's sake.

At 11:55, 25 minutes late but just about right for equine royalty, loyal companion Barbara Smullen led Funny Cide down the path and into the paddock. Men with hand-held cameras were shooting for the 6 o'clock news, or stockpiling B-roll for future voice-overs.

Trainer Barclay Tagg tacked up his prize gelding at noon, while his future Alabama winner, Island Fashion, was paddocked simultaneously, virtually unnoticed. Funny Cide took a few turns around the ring but by 12:05 he was gone. Smullen led him back to his barn on the Saratoga backstretch, security guard in tow.

Watching all this reminded a fan of why he fell in love with the game in the first place.

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The theatre lights dimmed and one could feel a surge of quiet anticipation as the screen brightened with glimpses of a simpler past, of a time of horses and horse-less carriages, men in fedoras and women in dresses that at once hugged the torso and flowed outward, padded shoulders, the wider the better.

Then came visions of cowboys with lassos, riding the open ranges of a wild west slowly becoming civilized, as if civilization resulted from the installation of the barbed-wire fence.

But nothing could prevent the blooded horse from healing the lives of three broken men because, said one, "you don't throw a life away because it's banged up a little."

And racing history will be made, by an owner  making the transition from the two-wheeler to the four-wheeler, a jockey forced to trade family life for that of a solitary racetracker, a trainer who found out you could make a better living with horses that used an English saddles, not westerns.

And after learning how to become a racehorse again, after winning the Great Match, after recovering from a ruptured ligament and, finally, after winning the Hundred Grander, Seabiscuit became a legend certified.

And watching a movie reminded a fan of why he fell in love with the game in the first place. 

Wednesday, August 13: Lissau, a second-time starting juvenile from Linda Rice, ran off to win by a pole over the sealed muddy track. J.D. Bailey aboard debuting Swift Attraction appeared more interested in dueling with Robby Albarado's mount, Exciting Metro; note... Phil Serpe juggernaut rolls on with returning Formal Attire, but Eavesdropper worth following since it made bold turn move inside before altering course twice through the straight... Banyu Dewi got the money but D'ohana finished well too late from between horses and is worth following... Watching races this spring from the Churchill Downs, Diary thought that Cuvee could run. But not this good, not this fast. With rains making the Saratoga Special surface sloppy, Cuvee raced his first quarter in :21 1/5 and kept going, stopping the timer in 1:15 4/5 for 6-1/2 furlongs, winning by nearly eight lengths. Son of Carson City certainly had a license to like it wet. Still, this was an eye-catching performance.

Thursday, August 14: At this juncture it now appears almost certain that Funny Cide's attempt to capture the Derby/Mid-Summer Derby Double will not happen. Meanwhile, Sackatoga Stable, the outfit that has done so much for the game because their horse made headlines and they typified the spirit of horse ownership, has another gifted horse. Not say that Saratoga Episode will be as good as his stablemate but this is one very nice colt. A strong-finish second to a talented Bond Arbitrage in his debut, he finished well again to get all the money. It was a pretty deep field of state-bred maidens he beat and he won like a horse of promise; in full stride, drawing away... Impetuous Fling, now a maiden once removed, is a Saratoga horse for course. She jumped up big time on a wet Spa surface when second on August 1, but broke her maiden this day with a strong, two-moves-on-the-lead score beneath Cornelio Velasquez. A.P. Indy filly could really blossom with further development; note. Larger Than Life gave a good effort, chasing the pace throughout and holding gamely while no match for 'Fling'... Finger Lakes-based trainer Charlton Baker sure does a nice job whenever we see one of his horses entered here. Not even Blackout '03 could short-circuit Storm On the Lake, a strong front-end winner of a state-bred secondary allowances. Sharp filly avoided a "bounce" despite coming back on short rest following a big winning effort in the Niagara. Credit horse and trainer... Couple of mid-level claimers put on a good show in the finale, To Di For Again, a game hot-pace second in his debut for LaBoccetta Jr., and Piston, a game-finish third after altering course inside and racing into close quarters approaching the finish; follow.

Friday, August 15: Back in the day, when it seemed that the state-bred Yaddo was run in divisions every year, a couple of real nice turf fillies took this year's split. Dynamic Lisa proved clearly best in the first heat when, despite being sloughed badly at the break, she settled, well back beneath Pat Day. She moved boldly to reach contention, steadied while awaiting room behind horses approaching headstretch, angled five wide, and finished with a flourish. Trainer Scott Schwartz continues to do a nice job with the family operation and 'Lisa' is headed for open company next. In the second division, Wake Up Kiss reprised 'Lisa's' effort, from the troubled start right down to the 1:50 3/5 running time. After settling well back under Edgar Prado, she whooshed to contention rounding the turn and drew off impressively to win by nearly five. The Ticonderoga on Showcase Day is next... Wake Up Kiss was Jim Bond's second winner of the afternoon. His juvenile filly Home Court faced sustained speed pressure throughout but still had enough class to handle well meant and promising La Reina. These debuting young girls are likely to be heard from again. Very likely... Let's hear it for Danceinthestreets, a winner of her sixth straight in the off-the-turf fourth. Winning streaks like that seemed a lot more common in olden days, not so much anymore... It was narrowly reported today that there was a factual error in last week's Diary. Indeed, the sales tax on claims in New York had been repealed. No excuses, Diary, guilty as charged. Just curious as to the name of the person who told a functional illiterate that this was the case. On second thought, never mind. Just not that important.  

Saturday, August 16: Alabama Day. As everyone knows, record breaking Todd Pletcher has a barn full of running 2-year-olds. But it appears maiden breaking Acteon can really run, winning in full stride. Elusive Quality colt is a scopey individual that may turn out to be the best of them. Nice problem for Pletcher to have; keeping them all separated. Behind Acteon, mid-moving Redskin Warrior finished with interest and Rainbow Rider closed well late. Both should be followed when next they race... Allen Jerkens slayed another giant when Puzzlement put it all together to win the Saratoga Breeders' Cup Handicap under gutsy handling from Jorge Chavez, who slipped through a narrow opening on the fence soon after straightening away. Neither the new jockey, Bailey, nor the new give-him-his-head tactics did Volponi much good. This was his fifth consecutive placing since winning last year's Classic. An unfortunate right hind suspensory-ligament injury has forced Harlan's Holiday into retirement. Gulfstream-loving winner of this year's Grade 1 Donn retires with earnings of over $3.6 million from a very worthy (22) 9-6-1 career slate... Funny game, this game. While pre-race Alabama storylines involved Bobby Frankel's Spoken Fur and Nick Zito's Birdtown, Barclay Tagg (remember him?) won the Alabama with much improved Delaware Oaks winner, Island Fashion. As anticipated, Spoken Fur was speed-dulled coming off the 12-furlong Coaching Club Oaks, but Birdtown's effort was shockingly poor. Following her brilliant prep when second in the Test, she stalked battling leaders comfortably but emptied out when the real running began approaching headstretch. After scoping cleanly, she left Zito and the filly's fans scratching their heads. Clearly, she's better than that. The winner's effort, and the ride she received from leading jockey John Velazquez, should not be diminished. Island Fashion was a likely winner in any case. And Tagg deserves props, too, for post-race comments that credited former trainer Nick Canani for sending him a "made horse." Good job, all around. The fall season will be very interesting in the sophomore filly division.

Sunday, August 17: An embarrassment of state-bred juvenile riches for trainer Rick Violette. First came Bond Arbitrage, now Read the Footnotes, who battled well meant Rodney Bay into defeat before drawing off beneath Velasquez. Johnny's victory was his 42nd of the meet on the 23rd day, eclipsing the Spa record of 41 set by the late, great Manuel Ycaza a lifetime ago. Runnerup 'Rodney' acquitted himself well and won't be a maiden long; note. Velasquez's rise to the highest echelon of his profession was clearly evident in winning his third of the day aboard Voodoo. As that gelding was racing head-to-head in midstetch with the speedy Here's Zealous, who appeared to be holding Voodoo safe, Johnny found another gear, allowing Prado to fire first before pushing his mount to the wire first. Velasquez's development, under the tutelage of the great Angel Cordero Jr., who remains the best rider Diary has ever seen, has been a joy to watch.

Monday, August 18: Travers Week and still no workout from Funny Cide. Interesting to see what happens at Wednesday's Travers draw. Diary believes that Funny Cide should remain in the barn. The Triple Crown obviously has taken a toll, then there was the fever--not a serious problem but coming at a serious time. New York's most famous gelding obviously has nothing to prove. If he were mine (I only wish,) I would give him more time, a lot more time. Continue the freshening process, point for the Empire Classic on Showcase Day and help celebrate the Year of the New York-bred in its most appropriate setting, Belmont Park this fall. His next major open-company target should be the Grade 1 Donn at Gulfstream. We already know he loves that surface, after finishing fifth while racing about a million wide throughout the Grade 3 Holy Bull in his season's debut from an impossible 13-post, beaten a little more than six lengths. From there, on to Fair Grounds, Oaklawn, Churchill Downs, anywhere a yellow school bus can take you, including back home for the next three of four Whitneys. But a Travers run? Anything's possible in this game. Or, as Hall of Famer Frank Whiteley Jr. said a couple of decades ago: "Never count a horse out unless it's dead at least 24 hours."