Edward ‘Eddie’ Dunnigan Passes

The global harness racing family has lost another pioneer. Edward ‘Eddie’ Dunnigan, 80, went to join his friends and fellow horsemen on the backstretch way up north Monday, February 11, following a 10-plus year battle with cancer.

A consummate horseman, classic racetrack character, father of four and fun friend to all, Dunnigan played a role in the harness racing community for the better part of seven decades.

His obsession with horses started with a shaggy Shetland pony named Scout. As the son of a respected racetrack owner/operator and grandson of the New York State Senator who legalized pari-mutuel wagering in New York, racing and gaming was in Dunnigan’s DNA.

With no interest in the business side of racing, the high school sophomore ran away from boarding school to chase his dreams of the Grand Circuit. Living in stalls and tack rooms, he was fortunate enough to rub blue-blooded stock and to learn from some of the most well-respected horsemen in the business.

A steadfast student anywhere but inside of a classroom, he studied under, competed against and befriended many of the early masters of the sport. The list of allies, idols, employers, mentors, friends and partners in plenty of pranks reads like a ‘who’s who’ in harness racing. Last names were household names for Dunnigan and included, but were not limited to, Haughton, O’Brien, Cruise, Caton, White, Chapman, Cameron, Miller, Sholty, Arthur, Simpson, Dancer, Beissinger, Gilmore, Insko, Garnsey and Filion, to name but a few.

Dunnigan trained and drove at dozens of tracks from coast to coast and throughout Europe and Scandinavia, as well as New Zealand, during the better part of his tour of duty.

He originally cut his teeth learning to drive under the watchful eye of the late John Chapman. He won his first race, however, in the 1950s driving for Jimmy Cruise at Bay Meadows in San Mateo, Calif., before stints at tracks from coast to coast and everywhere in between. Maywood, Sportsman’s, Hollywood, Del Mar Harness, Northfield, Batavia, Vernon and Phoenix Trotting Park were but a few stops on the journey for the seemingly tireless trotting man in his formative years.

One of Dunnigan’s first big breaks came in his early 20s with an offer from Leonard Buck’s Allwood Stable. He traded in the chance to rub elbows with titans of industry, politicians and even a future U.S. president, however, for the chance to tour the oval as fast and frequently as often as possible and to build a stable of his own — and on his own terms.

Dunnigan took a prestigious position as second trainer for the late great W.R. Haughton Stable in the late 1960s and relocated to Margate, Fla., with his young wife and family. He spent days and nights flying from track to track for the Haughton Stable, often racing two cards a day. There he piloted the likes of Laverne Hanover and Rum Customer for Haughton’s ‘Green Wave’ of well-bred winners prior to venturing out on his own with a large public stable of 60-plus head in the early 1970s in Pennsylvania.

Dunnigan had solid early success during that era and frequently found himself at or near the top of the leaderboard at tracks including Liberty Bell, Brandywine and the Meadows.

Dunnigan ultimately abandoned the large-scale public stable in the mid-‘70s in favour of a small but quality private stable which he took west for a quality of life change and to support his father’s efforts to expand the then-blossoming west coast harness racing scene. With more horses than opportunities on the west coast, Dunnigan would ultimately return east to compete during early days at the Meadowlands Racetrack, while also spending time racking up respect and some returns at Yonkers, Roosevelt, Vernon, Monticello and Pocono.

Dunnigan’s two favourites included champion free-for-all-trotter and Aged Trotting Mare of the Year Petite Evander, as well as the formidable and fiery open pacer and CanAm Series winner Skedaddle N, both of New Zealand. The two campaigned coast to coast and Petite represented New Zealand internationally.

With early luck with Kiwi-breds and a love of the Down Under lifestyle, Dunnigan moved to New Zealand and subsequently embarked on what was surely the most aggressive export of New Zealand horsehide to the U.S. at the time. In the process, he helped to make a mark for the breed in the U.S.

Dunnigan guided one of his last winners in 2012 at the age of 64 with his first grandson’s namesake Aidan Joseph in a New York Sire Stakes event at Saratoga. He then took roles training for Howie Okusko in Vernon, N.Y., in the summers and for Mickey Burke in the winters in Astor, Fla.

Okusko and Dunnigan became fast friends and ultimately, seemingly inseparable. A generation his junior, Howie kept Eddie on his toes while his wife Jessica kept him on track with his cancer treatments.

Dunnigan won thousands of races and millions of dollars in those undocumented portions of his career. To be sure though, this was not Eddie’s benchmark of success. His was measured in laughs, lies and legend. The journey along the way was far more noteworthy for Eddie than the destination and he amassed a lifetime of adventures unrivaled save for a select few. From beers with kings, flights with heavyweight boxing champions, offers from actors, appearances in movies, books, TV series’ and commercials and write ups in magazines newspapers, there is not much Dunnigan did not see or do. As a result, it was rare that he could not connect with even a stranger through a joke, a story or a beer.

His vast circle of friends, and the outpouring of support in the wake of his passing, shows the true depth and breadth of impact of this simply complex character.

Many will miss Dunnigan’s warm smile, his quick Irish wit, his endless stories, opinions and advice and his resounding reply of YES anytime there was fun to be had.

One of his many goofy, yet endearing, sayings was, “If I don’t see you in the future, I’ll see you in the pasture.”

Let’s all keep an eye out for Eddie in our future adventures and, if you are fortunate enough to run into him, be sure to buy him a beer, because he won’t likely buy you one. And trust that it will be memorable, if nothing else.

Dunnigan is survived by his four children, John, Joe, Mark and Mary. He was predeceased by his brothers Jimmy Jr., Richard and Jack.

There will be a small private service for Eddie with his family in Arizona and plans are being made for a larger gathering open to everyone in the spring in Vernon, N.Y.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Eddie Dunnigan

(Joe Dunnigan)