Jack Knowlton, Sackatoga's general partner, referred to the controversy as hitting "a couple of very little bumps in the road" that were handled expeditiously by the stewards at Churchill Downs.
Bad press
Santos had vowed to win the Preakness to "show the public that everything we were doing was fair and square."
Santos' ride was investigated after a published photograph and a story in The Miami Herald raised suspicion that the rider had something other than a whip in his right hand when he crossed the finish line. He was cleared of wrongdoing Monday.
Funny Cide buried the controversy with his decisive win, and now shifts the focus to the assault on the Triple Crown. The Belmont Stakes, at 2.41km, is called the Test of the Champion.
"I've been riding 27 years and this is the best horse I ever rode in my life," said Santos, who won the Belmont aboard Lemon Drop Kid in 1999.
Funny Cide is on a historic run like no other race horse.
Two weeks ago, he became the first New York-bred and first gelding in 74 years to win the Derby. The son of Distorted Humor, out of Belle's Good Cide, is the first New York-bred in 107 years to win the Preakness and the first gelding since Prairie Bayou in 1993.
The homecoming for the Belmont could produce a record crowd on the first Saturday of June when New York's newest hero tries to join an elite group of Triple Crown winners that includes Citation, Whirlaway, Secretariat and Seattle Slew.
A record crowd 103,222 attended last year's Belmont when Derby-Preakness winner War Emblem stumbled at the start and finished eighth in his Triple try.
No peace
Peace Rules was a close third in the Derby, but no match for Funny Cide in the Preakness. The loss left trainer Bobby Frankel still looking for his first win in a Triple Crown race. The Hall of Famer is now 0-for-9 in the series.
Bob Baffert saw his Preakness winning streak end at two. He won with War Emblem last year, and Point Given in 2001.
D. Wayne Lukas had two horses in the field, Scrimshaw and Ten Cents a Shine, his record 29th and 30th starters. The Hall of Famer has won the Preakness five times.
Among the horses Funny Cide may face in the Belmont are Derby runner-up Empire Maker, Atswhatimtalknbout, Dynever, Most Feared, Outta Here, Pretence and Ten Most Wanted.
Should Funny Cide sweep the Triple Crown, he would earn a US$5 million bonus paid by Triple Crown Productions.
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