Dave Mahan, one of the owners of dual classic winner Funny Cide, died on Wednesday following a long illness. He was 61.

The Republican-American of Waterbury, Connecticut, reported on its Web site on Wednesday that Mahan suffered from a brain tumor and had been hospitalized since December 26.

Mahan, who owned a catering business in Watertown, Connecticut, was one of five owners involved in the Sackatoga Stable partnership that campaigned the winner of the 2003 Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness Stakes (G1).

Mahan owned a 20% interest in Funny Cide, who became the first New York-bred horse to win the Derby and the first gelding since Clyde Van Dusen in 1929.

The Sackatoga Stable group became famous across the country as it followed the colt around in large school buses during his Triple Crown run, stopping to laugh or chat with anyone who approached them along the way.

"He loved the thought of being involved in a sport that was involved with glorious animals," Sackatoga Stable managing partner Jack Knowlton told the Associated Press. "It was his passion."

Funeral arrangements were not immediately available.