DAYTONA BEACH NEWS-JOURNAL
Daytona Beach, Florida
Saturday, August 5, 2000Florida thoroughbred racing pioneer dead
BAL HARBOUR (AP)- Fred Hooper, who won the 1945 Kentucky Derby with the first thoroughbred he ever purchased and helped develop Florida's breeding industry, died in his sleep Friday at 102.
He had been depressed since the death of his son, Fred Hooper Jr., on July 23, Hooper's wife, Wanda, told the Ocala Star-Banner.
She said Hooper was fatigued Thursday night and awakened with back pain. Wanda Hooper gave Hooper a prescription medication and a back massage. Hooper soon stopped breathing and condominium security and paramedics were unable to revive him.
Hooper's death came a day after he announced he would sell his breeding stock of 81 broodmare. weanlings, yearlings and 2-year-olds. Hooper was said to be keeping his racing stable.
Hooper, who split his time between his 912-acre horse farm in Ocala and his home in this affluent Miami suburb, had come to South Florida to watch the Florida Stallion Stakes on Saturday at Calder Race Course.
"It's very sad but he lived a full life," said Martha Pharmer, a book-keeper at Hooper Farms Inc.
Hooper won the 1945 Kentucky" Derby and Wood Memorial Stakes with the first thoroughbred he owned, Hoop Jr. His neophyte standing wasn't the only thing that made the Derby unique. It also was the first Derby to be held in June because of a wartime ban on racing earlier in the year.
Hooper, a construction company owner born in Cleveland, Ga., went on to become an influential breeder and a pioneer in the Florida thoroughbred industry, housing some of Florida's leading sires including Crozier, Tri Jet and Copelan. More than 100 horses bred at Hooper Farms have won stakes races.
He also introduced to the United States leading Latin American riders Laffit Pincay Jr., Braulio Baeza and Jorge Velasquez. All three eventually won classic races and became members of the Racing Hall of Fame.
In 1961, as president of the American Thoroughbred Owners Association, Hooper merged his group with the American Thoroughbred Breeders Association to form the present-day Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. He also served as president of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ Association.
Cooper received Eclipse Awards for outstanding breeder in 1975 and 1982 and won an Eclipse Award of Merit in 1991.
He is survived by his wife and three daughters, Kay Wheeler of Ormond Beach; Robin Phillips, of Richmond, Va., and Betty Green, of Montgomery, Ala.
CUTLINE TO PHOTOGRAPH: Fred William Hooper poses with Classic Value, a 10-year-old mare and mother of Class Kris, at Hooper Farms in September 1996. Hooper’s first thoroughbred, Hoop, Jr., won the 1945 Kentucky Derby.
THE BATTLE CREEK ENQUIRER
Battle Creek, Michigan
Saturday, August 5, 2002HORSE BREEDER DIES AT AGE 102
Associated PressBAL HARBOUR, Fla. – Fred Hooper, who won the 1945 Kentucky Derby with the first thoroughbred he ever purchased and helped develop Florida’s breeding industry, died m his sleep Friday at 102.
He had been depressed since the death of his son, Fred Hooper Jr., on July 23, Hooper’s wife Wanda, told the Ocala Star-Banner.
She said Hooper was fatigued Thursday night and awakened with back pain. Wanda Hooper gave Hooper a prescription medication and a back massage. Hooper soon stopped breathing and condominium security and paramedics unable to revive him.
Hooper’s death came a day after I announced he would sell his breeding stock of 81 broodmare, weanlings, yearlings and 2-year-olds. Hooper was said to be keeping his racing stable
Hooper, who split his time between his 912-acre horse farm in Ocala and his home in this affluent Miami suburb, had come to South Florida to watch the Florida Stallion Stakes Saturday at Calder Race Course.
“It’s very sad but be lived a full life,” said Martha Pharmer, a bookkeeper at Hooper Farms Inc.
Hooper won the 1945 Kentucky Derby and Wood Memorial Stakes with the first thoroughbred he owned, Hoop Jr. His neophyte standing wasn’t the only thing that made the Derby unique. It also was the first Derby to held in June because of a wartime ban on racing earlier in the Year.
Hooper, a construction company owner born in Cleveland, Ga., went to become an influential breeder and a pioneer in the Florida thoroughbred industry, housing some of Florida’s leading sires including Crozier, Tri Jet and Copelan. More than 100 horses bred at Hooper Farms have won stakes races
He also introduced to the United States leading Latin American riders Laffit Pincay Jr., Braulio Baeza, and Jorge Velasquez. All three eventually won classic races and became members of the Racing Hall of Fame.
