NEW YORK -- Jack Knowlton and the unlikely group of New Yorkers who owned Funny Cide had to be happy with their own brand of history.

"We have gone where no other New York-bred has gone," Knowlton said after his horse lost his Triple Crown bid at the Belmont Stakes.

"It is going to be a long time before somebody else does."

The Funny Cide crowd came to Belmont from upstate, some in four rented school buses with the highest of hopes, including financial ones. If Funny Cide had won, he'd have earned a $5 million bonus as the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years.

But they all left rain-soaked Belmont Park disappointed after watching Empire Maker beat their horse by five lengths in the mud.

Asked if he would have done anything differently, Funny Cide's jockey, Jose Santos, replied: "I'd keep Mother Nature away."

Like the owners and trainer Barclay Tagg, Santos was upset for all the people in the crowd pulling for the gelding on his home track.

"I think the 101,000 were rooting for Funny Cide and the other 864 for the other guys," the jockey said.

Knowlton suggested after the race that perhaps the 1 1/2 -mile distance on the sloppy track was too much for his horse, which won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes. Still, he was proud of the effort.

"He has nothing to be ashamed of," Knowlton said.

Tagg added: "You never know what they're going to do in mud."

The loss was a disappointment for New Yorkers and a sport looking for a boost.

In a world dominated by rich businessmen and Saudi sheiks, Funny Cide was purchased in November 2001 by a half-dozen friends from Sackets Harbor High School making their first foray into the racing game.

Funny Cide also has four other owners: two retirees, a caterer and a health care executive. Knowlton, manager of Sackatoga Stable, leads the merry band of pals who pitched in to cover Funny Cide's $75,000 price tag.

As they were waiting for the start of the race, New York Gov. George Pataki and his daughter Emily joined the owners. Emily Pataki had campaigned for her father in Sackets Harbor, the village of 1,300 on the shore of Lake Ontario.

The good news for New Yorkers and other racing fans is that they'll get to see Funny Cide run again and again -- health permitting.

As a gelding, he has no breeding value but could race for five or more years, perhaps becoming another John Henry or Kelso, two of the greatest thoroughbreds ever.

But no matter how Funny Cide does the rest of his career, his owners will never forget his pursuit of the Triple Crown.

As Knowlton said before the Belmont: "We had our five minutes of fame and our 10 minutes of fame."