Cunningham Notches First Career Win As Trainer

Trainer Jade Cunningham, who worked under trainers D. Wayne Lukas, Dallas Stewart, and Danny Pish before going out on her own last summer, was represented by her first career winner when Spankster pulled a 34-1 upset in Saturday’s first race at Oaklawn.

Spankster, a 5-year-old Mastery gelding who Cunningham co-owns with Terry Westemeir, cemented a last-to-first rally under Joseph Bealmear with a two-length triumph in the 5 1/2-furlong starter allowance. He covered the distance in 1:04.19 and returned $71.20.

Spankster was the 16th starter for Cunningham, 27, who hails from a racing family and struck out on her own after spending the 2021 Oaklawn meeting working under Lukas, her mentor, and running Stewart’s Oaklawn division. She started her first horse Sept. 3, 2023.

Cunningham grew up near Nashville, Tenn., but now considers Hot Springs home after purchasing a house adjacent to Oaklawn property in 2023.