Veteran trainer Roy Lumm and first-year Emerald Downs jockey Travis Cunningham will receive special awards this weekend as the track completes its 13th season of Thoroughbred racing.
Lumm will be presented with the Martin Durkan Award and Cunningham will receive the Lindy Award in a winner’s circle ceremony on Saturday.
Racing secretary Bret Anderson and his staff annually present the Martin Durkan Award to a trainer who exhibits leadership, cooperation, sportsmanship and excellence on and off the track throughout the 91-day meeting.
The Lindy Award, voted by the jockeys, is presented to a rider for accomplishment and sportsmanship throughout the season.
Lumm overcame a slow start to post another fine season. He ranks sixth in the standings with 34 wins, and his yellow silks with the blue diamond are Northwest fixtures. The 70-year-old native of Nowata, Okla., is seventh all-time with 303 wins at Emerald Downs.
Cunningham has ridden 18 winners in his inaugural season at Emerald Downs, and the 20-year-old native of Boise, Idaho, has impressed horsemen with his work ethic and pleasant demeanor.
The Martin Durkan Award is named in honor of the late state senator, a longtime proponent and enthusiast for racing in Washington.
The Lindy Award is named in honor of Lindy Aliment, for decades the clerk of scales at Longacres and later Emerald Downs.