Dave Hooper, a longtime racing official and former program coordinator of the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program, died the evening of May 28 at his home in Georgetown, Texas, with his wife, Martha, by his side. He was 88.
The well-liked and respected Hooper had retired from his position as state steward at Canterbury Park in 2020.
During his time at the Minnesota track, he was one of several recipients of the 2018 Pete Pedersen Award, which is presented to stewards who have demonstrated professional excellence and integrity in the performance of their duties.
Hooper had a long and distinguished career in the racing industry, which spanned approximately 60 years and followed his studies at the United States Naval Academy and then the University of Pennsylvania, where he obtained a degree in international relations. He spent nearly half of his time in racing, working in regulatory positions and held jobs as an association or state steward in Kentucky, Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, and Texas.
His daughter, Suzanne Hooper, told BloodHorse May 29 that her father was beloved by students during his tenure as program coordinator and lecturer at the RTIP from 1987 through 1994.
"My dad was this pretty amazing man. He had his own 'Hoop Fan Club' among (former RTIP students)," she said.
"He was a good man…he'd been sick for a while. At least, his spirit is free (from his cancer). He's at peace."
Ryan Driscoll, a former general manager at Kentucky Downs, said he remembers Hooper as a kindhearted man who was very welcoming to the student who arrived at the RTIP program from his home in rural Louisiana, feeling "homesick" and like a "fish out of water."
"There's Dave in the back of the office and he said, 'Come on in and sit down.' From that day forward and for the last 30 years, we've stayed in touch," Driscoll said. "He was a huge influence and not only to me, but all the other students. That was his purpose in life, to teach young people about horse racing and life and everything else. He was more of a friend than a professor.
" 'Hoop' always believed in that golden era of horse racing. …He always believed this was the greatest game on Earth."
Another of his students and friends, Prairie Meadows track announcer Bobby Neuman, immediately saw in Hooper a person who had a deep love for racing and a breadth of knowledge about the industry that he willingly shared with his students.
"I got to the racetrack program just before Dave got there. We knew immediately he was a guy that we would like because the first weekend he was there, we saw him across the border in Nogales, Mexico, at the racebook where we used to go bet the races," Neuman recalled. "We loved the fact that somebody who was one of our advisers would be doing that in his spare time.
"The other thing was that he had so much real-world racing experience coming into that job (at RTIP). He had done and seen almost everything in racing, whether it be management, marketing, and publicity. He worked for different tracks and newspapers. He had a whole lot of contacts and he knew somebody everywhere, so when we had questions or when people were looking to go out to do internships or things like that, Dave (helped)."
Hooper was predeceased by his brother, Paul, his first wife, Kathy, and his grandson, Ethan. In addition to his daughter, Suzanne, and wife, Martha, he is survived by Sara Hufford (stepdaughter), Warren Hufford (stepson), Cynthia Slachta (daughter), Jennifer Kash (daughter), and several grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Services will be held at Grace Episcopal Church, 1314 E. University Ave., Georgetown, Texas, on July 8 at 11:00 a.m. CT. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the Race Track Chaplaincy of America or the American Cancer Society.
