Over 20 years have gone by since the stories of Funny Cide and Smarty Jones captured the hearts of America during their heroic Triple Crown bids in back-to-back years. Now, their stories have become officially intertwined through the sons of their Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes-winning riders.

Smarty Jones was ridden by veteran jockey Stewart Elliott, who, at 60 years old, is still among the top riders on the Texas and Oklahoma circuits, having just won a fifth riding title at Sam Houston Race Park this winter. In April 2024, he was joined in the jock’s room by his son, Christopher.

The 19-year-old is already off to a successful start to his career, having won 141 races through July 30 and recently graduating from apprentice to journeyman. After beginning his riding career in Texas for three months, he relocated to the Mid-Atlantic last summer and was regularly riding the New York circuit by winter. Riding his first summer at Saratoga Race Course, he picked up his first stakes victory at the Spa with Leon Blue in the July 17 Rick Violette Stakes.

“This is where everyone wants to be, but if you had told me a year ago that I was going to be here, I wouldn’t believe it,” Elliott said. “I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress in a short amount of time.”

One of the secrets to his success comes in the form of his hard-working agent, Jose Santos Jr., son of Funny Cide’s jockey, Jose Santos.

The pair first met in 2013 at Keeneland when Elliott was just 7 years old. A few years later, while working as an agent for David Cabrera and Freddy Manrrique in Texas, Santos Jr. reconnected with Elliott as he began to learn how to ride.

“His dad was riding there and (Chris) was learning how to get on the pony,” Santos Jr. recalled. “They would tell me he was going to be a rider one day. I had my eye on him when I saw him on the pony. When I saw he was on his first horse, I tuned in for his first race.”

That first race came on April 21, 2024 at Lone Star Park, a maiden race for $7,500 claimers. Elliott was aboard Ru Mor Starter, the co-second longest shot on the board, and guided him to victory by 3 ¾ lengths.

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“I knew he was going to have the work ethic, and he looked really good for his first race,” Santos Jr. said. “I wanted to work with him. Not just as a rider, but you know the family he comes from. It’s so important to be well-rounded and, especially at his age, it’s impressive.”

Within seconds of crossing the wire, Elliott’s phone lit up back at the jock’s room with a message from Santos Jr. inquiring if he needed an agent.

“When I saw the text, I was like, ‘Wow, one of the best agents in the game just asked to work with me,’” Elliott said. “I’d known him because he was working with David Cabrera, and they were doing very well. I knew he had riders all over the country, and they were all winning.”

Elliott joined that group of winning riders and has continued to impress Santos Jr. with his mindset and work ethic.

“He hasn’t changed from the time we started working together,” Santos Jr. said. “He lived in New York City alone at 18, and he’s here at Saratoga at 19, and he’s the same person. His parents did an unbelievable job. The responsibility he holds at his age is going to take him far.”

Santos Jr. is well acquainted with Stewart Elliott and his wife, Lilibeth, given the proximity of Smarty Jones’ Triple Crown run to Funny Cide’s.

“(Smarty Jones) was cool to follow,” Santos Jr. said. “My dad had just won the Derby and had gotten fourth in that (2004) Derby with Limehouse. I was following it pretty closely and we watched (Smarty Jones’) whole run through Arkansas.”

Stewart Elliott is currently in Saratoga as Smarty Jones is set for induction to the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame Aug. 1. The Santos and Elliott families had a chance to enjoy dinner together July 29, and the two Derby and Preakness-winning jockeys traded tales of their Triple Crown escapades.

“It’s fun to watch them talk about it,” Santos Jr. said. “Our dads were talking about their Triple Crown experience and it’s very cool.

“It was kind of cool having Funny Cide and Smarty Jones back-to-back years. The state-bred horses with the smaller connections making it through and being Derby champions, it was a lot of fun.”

Jose Santos and Funny Cide win the Kentucky Derby. (Mike Corrado photo)

The stories each individual son heard from their own dad were likely ones they have heard many times before. Born in 2006, Elliott missed out on his dad’s 2004 Triple Crown run with Smarty Jones, but grew up realizing the importance the horse had on his family.

“Everybody always talked about it,” Elliott said. “Anybody who met my dad, that was the first horse they talked to him about. I immediately knew, and I’ve watched the race a whole bunch of times. My dad and I talk about him at least once a week.”

Meanwhile, Santos Jr. got the full experience at age 8 as Funny Cide marched through to Kentucky Derby and Preakness wins in 2003.

“That’s the pinnacle of racing,” Santos Jr. said. “Getting to experience that at the age I did – when I fully understood and appreciated what was going on – I felt like I had a good understanding about what horse racing was all about. It was unbelievable, and it really brought our family super close.”

The important role both horses played to racing as a whole is not lost on Santos Jr. or Elliott as, even though they were not directly involved, they are still closely linked to the fan-favorites.

“You talk to people all the time and they know who Funny Cide and Smarty Jones are,” Santos Jr. said. “You’ll be surprised, it’s amazing how many people tell you I got into horse racing because of Funny Cide or Smarty Jones. They really exposed the game because it was such a good story; everyone wanted to know about it. They brought America into a story that they might not have known about, which is always cool.”

The thrilling moments that captured America also captured the sons of the riders as both have followed in their dads’ footsteps.

Elliott (green cap) and Leon Blue win at the Spa. (Susie Raisher/NYRA)

“I was at the racetrack all the time growing up and watching my dad every day,” Elliott said. “That played a big part of it. That’s the whole reason why I’m riding.”

Santos retired from riding in 2007 and became a jockey’s agent. In 2010, he took over the book of Belmont Stakes-winning rider Fernando Jara, a rider that Santos Jr. now represents. When he was 14, Santos Jr. picked up his love for the job by assisting his father for the summer. At 16, he started working as an agent part-time. By 19, he was working full-time.

“He didn’t know how to read the condition book and would ask me to take notes because I knew how to read it,” Santos Jr. said. “He said, ‘I’ll pay you for every horse that wins.’ When the summer was over, that was it. That’s what I’m going to do with my life. It’s been the only thing I ever wanted to do.”

Santos currently represents eight riders across the country: Elliott, Jara, Manrrique, Julien Leparoux, Reylu Gutierrez, Emmanuel Esquivel, Victor Espinoza, and Rene Diaz.

With their unique story of how their family histories tie together, Santos Jr. and Elliott do feel a responsibility to uphold the legacies of the Funny Cide and Smarty Jones stories. In fact, they’re hoping they can add to it together.

“(The Kentucky Derby) is the race every jockey dreams of winning,” Elliott said. “That’s the ultimate goal.”

“A memory I’ll never forget is standing in that infield and looking out at the crowd at Churchill for the trophy presentation,” Santos Jr. said. “That’s a feeling I want again. I think that’s what we’re all here chasing. Of course, we love the day-to-day, but that’s the pinnacle. That’s the goal to get back there.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do ever since.”