Longtime horsewoman, Sarah "Sally" Ann Lundy, the first woman to saddle a starter in the Belmont Stakes (G1), passed away Aug. 26 after a long battle with cancer. She turned 63 years old the day she died.
Lundy grew up in the Pennsylvania-Delaware region and took to galloping horses and riding steeplechase races in her late teens. She worked for William Burling "Burley" Cocks and Bruce Miller in her early riding years. Later on she took a job with David Whiteley and galloped one of the stable's top runners, 1979 Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) winner Instrument Landing.
She traveled to Southern California with Whiteley's operation, went to work for Willard Proctor upon Whiteley's return to the East Coast, and became a great part of the Proctor barn as an exercise rider. Upon completion of her stay with the Proctor barn, she married trainer Richard J. Lundy and they began training privately for Virginia Kraft Payson.
During her time with Richard Lundy, she was also instrumental in campaigning a long list of stakes horses including grade 1 winners Blushing John, Jade Hunter, and Carr De Naskra. After her marriage ended, Lundy continued her public stable at Belmont Park. In 1984, she started Minstrel Star (GB) in the Belmont Stakes. From 690 career starts, she won 85 races including back-to-back runnings of the Ashley T. Cole Handicap at Aqueduct Racetrack in 1990-91 with Kate's Valentine, who also won the Kingston Stakes there.
Lundy won the 1993 runnings of the Sam F. Davis Breeders' Cup Stakes and the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs with Marco Bay. She also conditioned stakes winners Audio Cassette and Talc's Coventry.
When she retired from training, she took a job as an assistant to Hall of Famer Bobby Frankel and stayed with him until his passing in 2009. Recently, Lundy was working for Carla Gaines as her stable secretary.
Funeral arrangements are pending but a celebration of life is currently being planned for late September/early October in Southern California. Lundy is survived by two brothers, Steve Caldwell and John Caldwell.
