Jack Knowlton (right) one of the owners of Triple Crown hopeful Funny Cide, speaks at a conference in New York on Friday.

While it wasn't a private party, you couldn't help but feel like an outsider, the proverbial party crasher. That is, until someone among the Sackatoga Stable group said hello. Suddenly, you're family.

While Jack Knowlton manages the stable, which includes six high school buddies from western New York, Jon "J.P." Constance led the cheers at the overflowed table. He's the former mayor of Sacketts Harbor (population 1,386), after all, and a gregarious ringleader who never misses a chance to zing his cohorts.

A toast to Knowlton and his wife, Dorothy, came first as J.P. raised his glass. Sacktagota Stable came about eight years ago at Knowlton's suggestion. Certainly he got first dibs when it was time to celebrate their arrival in the Big Apple.

Second came a toast to all their friends and family members who joined them on this historic odyssey. Among those at the table, no lie, was their priest from Sacketts Harbor. Leaving no good-luck stone unturned, Funny Cide comes to the Belmont Stakes with saddle bags loaded down in karma.

Finally, Constance raised his glass and proudly exclaimed, "And a third toast for Funny Cide!" With that, the group erupted.

As news stories about their prized horse popped up on the big-screen television seemingly every few seconds, each time they greeted the publicity with rousing cheers. They cheered jockey Jose Santos and his young son, Jose, Jr. They cheered trainer Barclay Tagg. They even cheered to see the horse's name on graphics. This is a group of horse racing neophytes, as they readily admit. You won't find Daily Racing Form newsprint stains on the cuffs of their dress shirts.

Champagne and popcorn littered the table. While hotel management brought more for their prized guests, you could be sure that a few ice-cold brews would have suited this crew just fine. Knowlton's cell phone constantly lit up. Well-wishers chimed in from across the state. Meanwhile, the group plotted out its upcoming media schedule. At 6:22 p.m., CBS Evening News was set to do a national taped story from their hometown. Quickly, they channel surfed the big-screen manually in order to catch the story, but not turning until nearly 6:22 exact. They didn't want to miss any unexpected coverage on another channel. As the feature story played out, the group teased and razzed one another for the sound bites used on air. These folks are having the time of their lives.

As the gathering disbanded, I was given a Sackatoga Stable button with Funny Cide's name. The button didn't come from a big bag, but rather right from someone's shirt. "We'll get another," they said. "You take this one."

Sackatoga Stable truly stands for the little guy. The Sacketts Harbor six-pack is joined by four other partial investors who own between 10 and 20 percent. Knowlton owns 20-percent of the $75,000 star horse. His five-man band of longtime sidekicks pitched in four-percent each, or $3,000 for their now-realized dream.

Funny Cide's staunchest challenger on Saturday will be Empire Maker, a horse owned by Saudi Arabian Prince Khalid Abdullah's Juddmonte Farms. On the track, Funny Cide vs. Empire Maker promises to be a classic end to the Triple Crown series. But in the court of public opinion, the margin is even wider than the great Secretariat's record-setting, 31-length Belmont romp of 1973.

If sentiment counted for anything, Funny Cide couldn't lose. Now let's just hope nobody crashes his party.