Brian Lee Gunder, a Quarter Horse breeder and owner whose Circle G Ranch breeding and racing interests reached tracks across the United States, Canada and Mexico, passed away Saturday, October 3, at his residence in Lewisburg, Ohio. He was 63.
Born July 8, 1963, in Dayton, Ohio, Gunder was the owner and operator of Cordell Transportation and Circle G Ranch. A 1981 graduate of Twin Valley North High School, he was a member of the American Quarter Horse Association and several other horse associations.
Away from his businesses, he enjoyed hunting, fishing, Ohio State football and spending time with family and friends. Horse racing and time at the track were among his favorite pursuits.
His involvement in racing included ownership, breeding and the development of a stallion program. Horses carrying his ownership colors over the years included Grade 1 LQHBA Sale Futurity winner One Cool Corona, who earned $234,629, and Indiana stakes winners Fillemup Phil, with earnings of $320,684; On A New Note, with $179,504; and Dominyun Cartel, with $143,491.
Dominyun Cartel was also a Gunder homebred. The son of Dominyun out of Dreamers Cartel, by Corona Cartel, won the Miss Roxie Little Futurity and was recognized as a contender for AQHA champion 2-year-old colt honors following his 2018 season.
An important addition to Gunder’s breeding program came in 2013, when he purchased Send Me The Candy for $48,000 at the Heritage Place Fall Mixed Sale from Womack Cavender Farms. The daughter of Leaving Memories won the 1996 Remington Park Futurity (G1) before becoming an influential broodmare whose family includes Jess Good Candy, Apollitical Pence and This Candys Awesome.
Send Me The Candy remained under Gunder’s ownership until her death at age 27 in April 2021. She was buried at Dunn Ranch in Oklahoma and was inducted into the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2026.
Gunder bred Faster Then U from Send Me The Candy. The Oklahoma-bred son of Ivory James was a $70,000 Heritage Place Yearling Sale graduate who won the $256,576 La Fiesta Quarter Horse Futurity at Albuquerque in 2018 and earned $146,631 during his career.
Gunder’s stallion interests included co-ownership of Open Me A Corona until his purchase by Jason L. Berry in 2024. The 2015 AQHA champion aged stallion, by Coronas Leaving You out of In The Open, by Mr Eye Opener, won 16 of 21 starts and earned $929,150. His victories included the LQHBA Breeders’ Futurity (RG1), Louisiana Classic (RG2) and Louisiana Champions Day Classic (RG2).
Open Me A Corona went on to sire over $3.4 million in progeny earnings, including Grade 1 winners A Double Corona and Gunder-owned One Cool Corona.
Gunder also owned My Royal Wagon, a son of Pyc Paint Your Wagon out of Lynettes Knockout, by This Snow Is Royal. My Royal Wagon earned $171,606, attained a 108 speed index and finished third in the Rainbow Futurity (G1). On June 20, 2017, he established a then-track record at Indiana Grand, completing 400 yards in :19.357.
Following his racing career, My Royal Wagon stood at Circle G Ranch in Richmond, Indiana, where he was listed in the state’s stallion registry through 2024. His offspring extended Gunder’s involvement in racing into another generation.
Among them is My Royal Swinger, bred in Indiana by Gunder and his son Lane. Out of Game Swinger, by Swingin Jess, the gelding won the Unclassified NB 79 Speed Index Stakes at Ajax Downs in 2026 and later finished third in the Norman Picov Derby.
Another Gunder-bred runner, Open A New Corona, also found success in Canadian stakes competition. The daughter of Open Me A Corona out of Gunder’s stakes-winning mare On A New Note won the 2026 Princess Derby at Ajax Downs and finished second in the Norman Picov Derby.
In Mexico, Gunder-bred Last Eagle V has continued to add to his breeder’s accomplishments. The son of Gold Heart Eagle V out of Ifuaintfirstulast, by First Down Dash, was a $16,000 LQHBA Yearling Sale graduate who won the Mardi Gras Futurity (RG2) at Louisiana Downs during his freshman campaign.
On Sunday, October 4, 2026, Last Eagle V earned his third consecutive stakes victory at Hipódromo de las Américas in the Alfredo Castro Rea Derby. Earlier in the season, he won the AQHA Hipódromo de las Américas Championship Challenge, securing a berth in the October 17 AQHA Challenge Championships at The Downs at Albuquerque.
Together, those horses reflect the reach of Gunder’s work, from Indiana and Louisiana to racetracks beyond the United States. His breeding partnership with Lane also made that work a shared family pursuit.
Gunder was preceded in death by his twin brother, Brad Lee Gunder, in 2005, and his father-in-law, Paul M. Maxel, in 2010.
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Laura M. (Maxel) Gunder; children Cole, Lane and Sage Gunder; parents Gerald and Barbara (Fannin) Gunder; mother-in-law Zelda M. (Davis) Maxel; brother Marc and his wife, Lee; sisters Cynthia and her husband, David Summers, and Beth Anne Gunder and Rick Van Camp; brothers-in-law Eric M. Maxel and Melanie Meyer, and Von M. Maxel and his wife, Lora; grandchildren Adalynn and Myla; nieces, nephews and many friends.
The family will receive friends Saturday, October 10, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern at Circle G Ranch, 10816 Verona Road, Lewisburg, Ohio. Funeral services will begin at 3 p.m., with Pastor Tim Martin officiating. Interment will follow at Sugar Grove Cemetery in West Alexandria, Ohio.
Memorial contributions may be made to Crossroads Hospice, 10810 E. 45th Street, Suite 300, Tulsa, OK 74146. Condolences and floral tributes may be arranged through Barnes Funeral Homes’ online obituary and guestbook.
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