It was another solid year for the Cunningham Stable and as a result, Tony Cunningham won his fourth straight Leading Quarter Horse Owner title. With nine wins for the year, Cunningham now moves into the top spot as the track’s all-time leading Quarter Horse Owner with 54 career wins at the Shelbyville, Ind. racetrack.
Cunningham has participated in all years of pari-mutuel Quarter Horse racing, traveling down from his farm in Michigan to race when the inaugural season was launched at Hoosier Park in 1997. Since that time, his stable has grown to prominence and he has numerous stakes winners in his barn, including the older hard hitting Beach Bum Eddie. Now six, the Escondido Beach gelding won the Born Runner Classic Stakes in May and continued throughout the season to be stakes placed in several other events.
“That was probably the highlight of the season for me,” said Cunningham. “Watching Beach Bum Eddie come back off an injury and win the way he did. That just made the whole meet special.”
Cunningham divides his time between his farm in Michigan and Indiana Grand, where he keeps a string of racehorses. With 14 at the track and 43 at home, Cunningham had a strong showing for 2019.
With the conclusion of the 2019 racing season at Indiana Grand, Cunningham will be traveling up and down the road a little less, but the work doesn’t stop. He and his team are already hard at work.
“We have 21 babies and we already have 15 of them galloping at our farm,” added Cunningham. “All but six of them are Indiana bred or sired. It feels great to have another good season. We have a great team to credit for that success.”
Jon Schuster, vice president and general manager of racing, and Kevin Greely, director of racing, made the winner’s circle presentation to Cunningham for his Leading Quarter Horse Owner title. Schuster pointed out the impact Cunningham continues to have on the Indiana Quarter Horse racing program.
“It is great to be down here again with Tony for this award,” said Schuster. “We thank him for being a big part of our Quarter Horse program and for showcasing a lot of talent on the track. He is a great asset to our Quarter Horse meet.”
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