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Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13

Horse named for Mets’ Syndergaard wins Funny Cide Stakes

In this image provided by the Coglianese Photos, Syndergaard, ridden by John R. Velazquez, wins the Funny Cide Stakes horse race Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Coglianese Photos via AP)
In this image provided by the Coglianese Photos, Syndergaard, ridden by John R. Velazquez, wins the Funny Cide Stakes horse race Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Coglianese Photos via AP) In this image provided by the Coglianese Photos, Syndergaard, ridden by John R. Velazquez, wins the Funny Cide Stakes horse race Friday, Aug. 26, 2016, at Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. (Coglianese Photos via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) – Turns out, Syndergaard is awfully fast on the track, too.

A horse named after hard-throwing New York Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard won the $200,000 Funny Cide Stakes at Saratoga on Friday, blowing away the competition by eight lengths.

The team made mention of Syndergaard’s racing success upstate in its game notes Friday and said the 2-year-old colt is an early favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby.

In a release provided by the New York Racing Association, winning trainer Todd Pletcher said: “Yeah, he came with the heater today.”

The Mets said track announcer Larry Collmus exclaimed that Syndergaard “was throwing the hammer down.”