Tag: People

David Elliott Hooper, 88, of Georgetown, Texas, passed away peacefully on Monday after after a long battle with cancer.  As in life, his beloved wife Martha was by his side.

Hooper was born on Jan. 3, 1935, to Raymond and Doris Hooper in East Rutherford, N.J. After attending the United States Naval Academy through an appointment from Congress (1953-56), he completed his studies by graduating from University of Pennsylvania as part of the class of 1961.

After graduating with a degree in International Relations, Hooper began a storied career in the horse racing industry that spanned over 60 years.  He held many regulatory positions, including executive secretary of the Illinois Racing Board, and served as a steward at the state and racetrack levels in eight states. In 2018, he was the recipient of the Pete Pedersen Award from the Racing Officials Accreditation Program, which recognizes professional excellence, integrity, and benevolent consideration in the performance of their duties. Often referred to respectfully as “Judge,”  Hooper was regarded widely as being fair in his stewardship and interactions with fellow horsemen, while prioritizing the ethics of the game and safety of the jockeys.  He retired in 2020, his final position as steward at Canterbury Park in Minnesota.

In addition to his positions as a regulator, Hooper also held positions in executive administration at the Thoroughbred Breeders of Kentucky  (1970-76), the Illinois Thoroughbred Breeders (1984-86), and the Texas Thoroughbred Association (1997-2012).  One of his crowning accomplishments included a special assignment to lead the Smithsonian FolkLife Festival (1973) showcasing the state of Kentucky in Washington D.C.  The festival included displays of Kentucky heritage such as arts & crafts, tobacco, bourbon, and a straightaway for horse racing beside the Washington Monument.

Hooper attended or covered over 40 Kentucky Derby races as a fan and a commentator.  His most memorable Derby was in 1973 when Secretariat won and began what would become a coveted Triple Crown achievement.  Throughout his career in media, Hooper worked as a columnist, commentator, reporter and race caller for various outlets, including Daily Racing Form, WHAS-TV, ESPN, Lexington Herald-Leader, and the Miami Herald.

He also served as coordinator and lecturer at the University of Arizona's Race Track Industry Program, specializing in racing laws and enforcement, covering all aspects of regulatory oversight. Hooper was a mentor to many who came through the program.

In 1995, Hooper met Martha Hufford at the Texas Racing Commission.  He and Martha soon married and enjoyed 25 years as husband and wife.  They spent many years traveling across the United States, while enjoying various hobbies.

Throughout his life, Hooper was an avid sports enthusiast.  He particularly enjoyed playing tennis, which translated to a lifetime sport for him and his daughters.  His love of Philadelphia sports teams, both at the college and professional level, was well known.  He had an endearing interest in his grandchildren's achievements through sports and academics, including watching films of lacrosse and football games.

Hooper was predeceased by his father and mother Raymond and Doris Hooper, his beloved brother Paul and his wife Kathy, as well as his grandson Ethan.  He is survived by his wife Martha, Sara Hufford (step daughter), Warren Hufford (step son), Cynthia Slachta (daughter and wife of Michael), Suzanne Hooper (daughter), Jennifer Kash (daughter and wife of Brian), Kathleen Slachta (granddaughter), Elle Slachta  (granddaughter), Grace Slachta  (granddaughter), Mick Slachta  (grandson), Bryce Kash (grandson), Paige Kash  (granddaughter), Bradley Hufford (grandson), Aron Hufford (grandson) and his wife Kara, Haley Hufford (granddaughter).  Elizabeth Sweens (granddaughter), Hannah Sweens (granddaughter), as well as five great grandchildren.

Services are pending.

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Been Robbed Racing's Star Shopping, a 4-year-old gelding making his 22nd start, got his nose down on the wire to edge Bourbon Ready in Monday's Memorial Day holiday finale at historic Pimlico Race Course and give trainer Troy Robb his first career win.

Star Shopping ($5.20), favored at 8-5 in the claiming event for 3-year-olds and up, covered five furlongs on a firm turf course in :57.63  under jockey Horacio Karamanos. It was Karamanos' second win of the day, following Air Token ($3.60) in Race 7.

“It's awesome,” Robb said. “It feels like I did something right.”

Robb is the 37-year-old nephew of Laurel Park-based trainer John 'Jerry' Robb. Monday was the younger Robb's seventh lifetime start and fifth this year, all courtesy of Star Shopping, who had one second and four thirds in six tries since launching Robb's career Nov. 20, 2022 at Laurel.

“That's my whole stable, right there,” Robb said. “I run Mary Eppler's barn and I just have that horse. She let me have that one horse in her barn. I'm thankful to her for letting me do that and try to get started.”

Star Shopping, a son of Midnight Storm, was exiting a pair of tough beats, losing by a neck when second in a Feb. 25 claimer on the dirt at Laurel before returning to be third by 1¼ lengths following a troubled trip May 11 over the Pimlico turf.

“They were touting him pretty good,” Robb said of Star Shopping. “They had a breakdown of his last race when he got stuck down behind horses and they showed that, so I think that's why everybody jumped on him. He got in a little bit of trouble last time.”

In addition to working for Eppler, who is based at Pimlico, Robb spent time under his uncle and his father, Larry Robb, who gave him his introduction to horses.

“My dad got me started when I was a kid, maybe 12 or 13, at Upper Marlboro. He had a couple horses there. During the summer I used to help him, and I always liked working with horses,” Robb said. “I moved on to work for my uncle for about 10, 15 years and now I'm working for Mary. Me and my cousin Donald, Jerry's son, just wanted to try our luck. That's pretty much it. We've worked with horses our whole lives and been in the business since we were kids. We're just trying to see if we could get lucky, and we did today.”

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Ruben Sierra became involved in Thoroughbred breeding and ownership more than 20 years ago with his eyes wide open.

“My stable is called Just for Fun to remind me this is not cheap. It's a hobby,” said the South Florida horseman, not to be confused with the former Major League Baseball star of the same name. “I'm a grain trader. I trade futures, export grain, corn, soybean – that's what allows me to pay for my hobby.”

Although he hasn't been blinded my unrealistic expectations, Sierra has enjoyed enough success to make his hobby a rewarding pastime, most notably a 2011 Kentucky Derby (G1) start for homebred Decisive Moment, a multiple-stakes winner who earned nearly $975,000.

Having also started training his homebreds recently, Sierra is scheduled to saddle Warrior's Pride for a start in Saturday's $60,000 Pembroke Latkes, a five-furlong overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up on turf, at Gulfstream Park.

“He's a 5-year-old. He's lightly raced, but that's the way we are. The horse will let us know when he's ready to run. He's sound. He's a horse that hasn't had any issues, knock on wood,” he said. “I think he's the best example of what we try to do. They don't all turn out like that. He's got a big heart and a lot of speed.”

A homebred son of Poseidon's Warrior, Warrior's Pride is a multiple-stakes winner with more than $225,000 in purse earnings.

“I used to buy horses and I wasn't happy with what I was getting after a while. I started to do my own thing,” Sierra said. “I've always studied pedigree. I started experimenting, but the key, I think, is how you bring them up, how you take care of the mare, how you take care of the babies. The success is starting to show.”

Warrior's Pride most recently pressed the pace set by Yes I Am Free in the April 29 Sunny Isles overnight handicap before settling for third behind the multiple grade-stakes winner.

“He hadn't run in about seven months. He had a couple of minor issues, skin problems,” Sierra said. “He wasn't 100 percent. He's going to benefit from having raced. We couldn't be happier.”

Warrior's Pride's half-sister Sophia's Storm, a 4-year-old daughter of Handsome Mike, has won four of her last five races for Sierra.

“I don't have access to the top bloodlines. I believe the way you take care of the mares and how you bring up the babies makes a difference. In the last couple of years, we've seen difference, not only how the horses look physically, but how they've been performing,” Sierra said. “I've been fortunate because they are sound. Open spaces, good feed, good care gives you a good product, a good horse, a happy horse.

“We know these individuals from when they are born. We know their particularities,” he added. “We're in no rush. We don't rush. If you look numbers, I run very few 2-year-olds. We're trying to get on track to participate in 2-year-old races, but we want to take our time and let the horses develop.”

Patience has certainly paid off with Warrior's Pride, who has been installed as the 7-2 morning-line favorite for the Pembroke Lakes in his second start of the season. Edgard Zayas has the call on the Just For Fun Stable LLC's veteran.

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Dennis Lima wore a variety of hats during his 30 years as an Association Steward at Tampa Bay Downs – mentor, friend and confidant foremost among them.

“He was somebody you could always talk to, and you could trust him to give you good advice,” said Tampa Bay Downs racing official Jenn Moore. “And he treated everybody equally. He was so down to earth and never got riled up.

“It (his passing) is just a huge loss for everybody.”

Lima, who died Wednesday at 77 after a brief illness, judged the races from the stewards' office atop the Oldsmar, Fla., grandstand next to the announcer's booth. He and former Tampa Bay Downs announcer Richard Grunder formed a lasting friendship based on numerous shared interests and a deep respect for each other's knowledge and professionalism.

“He was a very even-tempered guy who handled himself the same with all types of people, from grooms to Hall of Fame trainers,” Grunder said. “He had the perfect personality to be a steward. He read the films really good, knew the job inside-out and any tough situations that came up, he would take the reins and make the call. I've been in press boxes from the Pacific Northwest to Florida, and he was one of the best I've ever worked with.

“Plus, he was just a fun guy to be around. He was a witty, old New England son of a gun.”

Lima gained respect from horsemen, jockeys, other track officials and even fans for his thorough knowledge of the sport's rules and regulations and his ability to apply them without bias. “You could ask him a rules question and he would rattle the answer off the top of his head,” Moore said.

As much as Moore, Grunder and so many others at Tampa Bay Downs came to feel like family around Lima, their knowledge of his background in racing was primarily limited to working with him here on a daily basis. About a lifetime ago – actually, closer to 60 years – Lima rode a train from Rhode Island to Florida with a shipment of horses bound for the Tampa Bay Downs (then Sunshine Park) barn of trainer Doc Canzano.

Lima took off soon after graduating from Pawtucket West High School in Rhode Island, not far from Narragansett Park, where his older brother Eddie had turned him on to racing a few years earlier and helped him get work as a groom and hotwalker.

After returning north in 1964, Lima trained his own horses in New England, was an assistant trainer to Ned Allard and worked as a jockey's agent.

Believing his future to be in the racing office, Lima served with the Massachusetts fair-racing circuit and at Suffolk Downs in Massachusetts and Rockingham Park in New Hampshire as a placing judge, paddock judge and entry clerk. He was named an alternate steward at those tracks in 1987, becoming a full-time steward three years later. He worked in that role at Rockingham from 1990 until the track closed in 2002.

By then, he was well-established at Tampa Bay Downs, having been hired in 1993 as an Association Steward by then-General Manager John Grady. Lima also worked from 2003-2021 as a State Steward at Delaware Park.

Lima's credo as a steward was straightforward, as he outlined 10 years ago to a reporter. “The most important thing is to be as fair and consistent as possible with our rulings and our judgment calls during the races. For me, the most rewarding aspect of this job is when you finish a meet knowing you have done your part to keep it as safe as you can for the horses and the jockeys.”

He was also attuned to the importance of maintaining the public trust, saying during that same interview the one major change he would make to racing would be to “establish more uniformity in medication rules and penalties, especially with so many trainers shipping horses from state to state.”

Lima is survived by his wife, Celeste; their children, Monique and Shaun; several grandchildren; and a son, Dennis E. Lima. He was predeceased by a daughter, Melissa. Per his wishes, no service will be held.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to Suncoast Hospice Foundation, 5771 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater, FL 33760.

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