They are on the racetrack every day. They are prized by all, for they are used to calm racehorses, catch loose ones and even help educate fans.

They are the stable ponies.

On the racetrack, any horse that does not race is considered a pony, although they are full-grown horses. They can be of any particular breed. Some may be flashy paints, some seemingly ordinary. And some are even ex-racehorses.

The most famous pony at Saratoga Race Course is Funny Cide, the 2003 Kentucky Derby/Preakness winner and the 2004 Jockey Club Gold Cup winner.

Funny Cide earned $3,204,485, the highest amount of any New York-bred in history, and there was no way that trainer Barclay Tagg was going to let him out of his sight.

“I didn’t want to send him off to some farm somewhere, where he would be out in a field with flies all over his face and no one coming to see him,” Tagg said when the gelding was retired. “This way, he gets to stay with his routine and he has Robin (assistant trainer and exercise rider Robin Smullen) fawning on him all the time.”

And he still gets his daily peppermints from the gap attendant.

“Nothing has changed much,” Tagg said. “He goes out on sets in the mornings, gets tied up, eats hay, gets washed off and has four (protective) bandages put on.”

Another top horse who found a second career as a pony is John’s Call. Trained by Tom Voss, John’s Call won the Grade 1 Sword Dancer in 2000 as a nine-year-old.

Purchased for $4,000 as a potential steeplechase horse, John’s Call found his niche in flat racing.

“He wasn’t a good jumper,” said Voss.

At the end of his racing career, John’s Call was turned out for a short period before it was decided he would stay with Voss as the stable pony. His quiet temperament made this an easy decision.

“John’s Call was always quiet, even as a race horse,” Voss said “He was the easiest horse in the barn to ride.”

Not quite as famous, but certainly appreciated, is Broadway Bob. His racing career was not a memorable one; however as a pony, he has his own cheering section.

“I bought Bob out of Maryland, where he was working as an outrider’s pony,” said trainer Gary Contessa. “He often gives rides to spectators stopping through the barns or poses for pictures. My kids ride him, and spectators’ kids ride him.”

Broadway’s favorite treat is a McDonald’s breakfast sandwich, especially with extra sausage.

“This horse will eat anything, he’s a carnivore,” Contessa said. “People feed him anything, and Bob loves it. He once stole a whole bag of McDonald’s. There were 30 sandwiches in there and he ate them all.”

Broadway Bob epitomizes the perfect pony horse. He has the ability to run down a run away, calm a flighty horse, and socialize with the public.

Not every horse is cut out to be a pony.

“A good pony is one that can go when you ask him to, catch up to a loose horse,” said Hall of Fame trainer H. Allen Jerkens. “And then, when you finally catch the horse, you have to be able to pull it up, along with the other horse. A good horse is very tractable, actually.”

That point was proven last Wednesday during the races when outrider Natalie Rutgilano and her 12-year-old gelding, K.C., made a great catch on two-year-old filly Tough But Fair, who unseated jockey Javier Castellano before being scratched prior to the seventh race. Earlier that morning, Rutgilano and K.C. caught another loose horse on the Oklahoma training track.

“That was a busy day,” the 24-year-old Rutgilano said. “When you see a loose horse, you have to get going. When a horse is coming at you full speed, you have to get in gear. I was getting scared because she was getting in front of me. She actually cut in front of me, but she stopped, and we were able to catch her.”

In a sport where anything can happen, it is comforting to know that a pony will always be there to make things right.