Peter Tunney, born into a family of racing and sports officials and who led Golden Gate Fields in Northern California for three decades, died on Wednesday at his home at Piedmont, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay Area. He was 83 and, according to Daily Racing Form, had suffered from Lewy body dementia.
Son of a Southern California racing official, Jim Tunney Sr., Tunney's first job was as a parking lot attendant at Hollywood Park while attending Occidental College in Los Angeles. Upon graduation he started working at the track full-time, first as an official and then in the racing office, including a three-year stint as Del Mar's racing secretary in the 1970s. He worked in numerous capacities at Santa Anita and Hollywood, and Tunney eventually settled in at Golden Gate Fields, serving as general manager for 30 years.
Tunney ran track and was a running back for the Occidental College football team, according to Daily Racing Form's Steve Andersen, who noted that Tunney was a 13th-round draft choice by the Detroit Lions in 1960. He played on the same college team as eventual NFL star quarterback Jack Kemp, who would later go on to a career in public service. Tunney sustained a non-football leg injury that cut short his athletic career and caused him to walk with a limp for the rest of his life, his wife, Anian, told DRF.
Tunney's brother, Jim, is known as the “dean of NFL referees,” working in that capacity from 1967-'90.
Trainer Bob Hess recalls when his late father, Bob Hess Sr., headed the Northern California horsemen's group and had ongoing interaction with Tunney. “Peter was always a gentleman, an intelligent and great man who always put horses and horse racing first.” said Hess.
Alan Balch, a former longtime track executive and now executive director of California Thoroughbred Trainers, worked alongside Tunney at both Southern and Northern California tracks.
“One of racing's good guys, Peter Tunney was at home anywhere on the track — whether in the garage at Hollywood Park, to the overflow parking lot at Santa Anita, to a Paris restaurant during Arc week, any Stewards' stand, Racing Office, or the executive suite at Golden Gate Fields,” said Balch. “He was a gifted raconteur and bon vivant whose droll sense of humor is unforgettable, and was a big part of his success as a management leader.”
Santa Anita, which like Golden Gate Fields is owned by The Stronach Group, issued the following statement: “Peter Tunney has been a constant, calming and classy tiller for California racing for over 40 years. His heart was as big as his smile and his handshake, which always was as good as his word. For most of the last 30 years, he has been synonymous with Golden Gate Fields and we will miss his guidance. Everyone involved in California racing, whether they personally knew Peter or not, has lost a dear and decent friend who was a champion for our sport, as his touch reached all aspects of the business. Our thoughts and condolences are with his family during this difficult time.”
Services were not known at time of writing.
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