SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- The oppressive heat and humidity cleared out the night before, and Saturday dawned cool and cloudless. Even if the Travers Stakes field wasn't what everybody wanted, the weather couldn't have been better. For some, the absence of local hero Funny Cide and his nemesis, Empire Maker, overshadowed the glorious conditions. But for a Travers record crowd of 66,122, missing out on a rematch of the Triple Crown rivals wasn't going to spoil their day.

The gates opened at 7 a.m., and by 9:30 the picnicking was in full swing. Most of the prime spaces in the back yard already had been staked out, and the feasting and drinking had begun nine hours before the gates would open for the 134th Midsummer Derby. By the time the first race went off at 12:30, there were no spots left. Party on, summer's almost gone.

Jack Knowlton is the managing partner of Sackatoga Stable, which owns Funny Cide, and he's been to almost every Travers for the past 30 years. He knows that no matter who's in the race, it's a big deal.

"The Travers is an event that makes it a yearly happening," Knowlton said Tuesday. "Family and friends are out there early in the morning fighting for picnic tables and space in the back yard. It's a tremendous race where a lot of great horses have competed.

"Every year everybody is looking toward Travers Day, wondering what kind of crowd we're going to get, and if the Derby winner is going to run."

Unfortunately for Sacktaoga and the New York Racing Association, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Funny Cide was in the barn. Even without Belmont Stakes champion Empire Maker, many people estimated that Funny Cide's presence would have guaranteed an extra 10,000 fans moving about on the anthill that is Saratoga Race Course on Travers Day.

On Friday night, downtown Saratoga Springs was full and jumping. A few blocks off Broadway, the main drag, the Funny Cide Store, operated by Funny Cide Ventures, was doing a brisk business. The little hole in the wall with a brick interior is open 11 hours every day but Sunday (eight hours), and the money continues to flow in. Even with Funny Cide sidelined by illness, the fever burns among his fans. The Cult of the Gelding can't get enough Funny Cide stuff.

Besides the usual hats, shirts, sweatshirts and glasses, there are novelty items such as large Christmas ornaments and a small flask complete with a shot glass, A 40-something woman with an upstate New York accent was gushing over the small whisky receptacle, saying, "Oh, isn't that cute. That is so cute."

I asked a young salesgirl how sales were going since Funny Cide was pulled out, and she assured me things were good. "Yes, we've been very busy," she said. "People have been very supportive of the horse."

Funny Cide's fans may be paying too much for memorabilia of their ailing hero, but at least they're not front-runners.

Predictably, The Showdown at the Spa never materialized. Whenever too many people start expecting something to happen, it rarely does. Look what happened to Funny Cide's Triple Crown bid on rainy Belmont Stakes Day. Minutes after Empire Maker splashed across the finish line that day, the media began beating the drums for the next epic confrontation in late August. As fragile as thoroughbreds are, it's remarkable that Empire Maker and Funny Cide already have met three times. Don't be surprised if they never end up in the same race again.

The Rematch That Wasn't continued the theme of a frustrating meeting, plagued by falling handle, too much rain and too many weather-induced scratches. The endless procession of overbet winning favorites (an astounding 45 percent) also has been boring, leading to Saratoga being nicknamed the "Graveyard of Value" not the "Graveyard of Favorites."Even up here in horse heaven, it's not always paradise.

But that doesn't break my heart. Looking too closely at the big picture often is depressing. As a character in a Felliini movie once said of life, "Sensitive souls should not look in too deeply." Horse racing is a game of the day, and Travers Day was shaping up as a fine one. There were full fields, live animals who wouldn't be favored and hope for profit in the air. I never ask for more than that.