Fred William Hooper (October 6, 1897 – August 4, 2000) was an American

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

owner and

breeder A breeder is a person who selectively breeds carefully selected mates, normally of the same breed, to sexually reproduce offspring with specific, consistently replicable qualities and characteristics. This might be as a farmer, agriculturalist ...

. He was a member of

The Jockey Club The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs and both the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, among ...

, an honorary director of the

Breeders' Cup The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Graded stakes race, Grade I Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse races, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was ...

, and one of the founders of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association and one of its first presidents.

Early years

Born in

Cleveland, Georgia Cleveland is a city in White County, Georgia, located northeast of Atlanta and southeast of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Its population was 3,514 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of White County. Cleveland is home to the North Georgia Zo ...

, Hooper quit school in the eighth grade and worked as a schoolteacher, a carpenter, a riveter, a prizefighter and a potato farmer. He would make his fortune in the heavy construction business. He bought near

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

and started breeding champion

Hereford cattle The Hereford is a British List of cattle breeds, breed of beef cattle originally from Herefordshire in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It was the result of selective breeding from the mid-eighteenth century by a few famil ...

and eventually horses. He later built the Circle H Farm, an

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given Horse breed, breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired chara ...

operation in

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

Thoroughbred Racing

Hooper won the 1945 Kentucky Derby with his first thoroughbred,

Hoop Jr. Hoop Jr. (March 15, 1942 – November 19, 1964) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for winning the 1945 Kentucky Derby. Background Hoop Jr. was a bay horse sired by the French-bred stallion Sir Gallahad, a full brother to Bul ...

In his 50 years as a horse-breeder, Hooper bred or raced the winners of more than one hundred

stakes races A stake is a large wooden or metal implement designed to be driven into the ground and may refer to: Tools * Archer's stake, a defensive stake carried by medieval longbowmen * Survey stakes, markers used by surveyors * Sudis (stake) (Latin for " ...

. Among his other notable horse were U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductees Precisionist and Susan's Girl. In 1975 and again in 1982, Fred Hooper was voted the

Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder Eclipse Award for Outstanding Breeder is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor for breeders. Created in 1971, it is part of the Eclipse Awards program and is awarded annually. Its Canadian counterpart is the Sovereign Award for Outstanding Br ...

. In 1992, he was voted the Eclipse Award Of Merit, the industry's highest honor. In 1995 he was inducted in the Calder Race Course Hall of Fame. Fred Hooper was responsible for bringing top Latin American riders to the United States. Hall of Fame jockeys Laffit Pincay Jr.,

Braulio Baeza Braulio Baeza (born March 26, 1940) is a Panamanian-American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. In 1963, he was the first Latin American jockey to win the Kentucky Derby. Biography Baeza began his racing career in 1955 in Panama at Hipodromo Ju ...

, and

Jorge Velásquez Jorge Velásquez (born December 28, 1946) is a Panamanian retired thoroughbred horse racing jockey. Jorge Velasquez's career in thoroughbred racing began in his native Panama but as a teenager moved to the United States. In 1967 he won more race ...

all got their start with him.

Death & Legacy

Hooper died at the age of 102 in

. The Fred W. Hooper Handicap at

Gulfstream Park Gulfstream Park is a Thoroughbred racing, Thoroughbred horse race track, casino and outdoor entertainment and shopping destination in Hallandale Beach, Florida, Hallandale Beach, Florida, United States. It is among the most important venues for ...

is named in his honor. Hooper Academy in

Hope Hull, Alabama Hope Hull, also known as McGehee's Switch, is an unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Alabama, United States, southwest of Montgomery. It is home to the drive-through zoological park ''Alabama Safari Park''. History Hope Hull, a stop ...

is named in his honor.

References

* * Bowen, Edward L. '' Legacies of the Turf: A Century of Great Thoroughbred Breeders'' (2003)

Eclipse Press Blood-Horse Publications is an American multimedia publishing house focused on horse-related magazines headquartered in Lexington, Kentucky. It began in 1916 through its flagship magazine, ''The Blood-Horse''. From 1961 to 2015, Blood-Horse Public ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hooper, Fred W. 1897 births 2000 deaths American men centenarians American racehorse owners and breeders Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Eclipse Award winners People from Cleveland, Georgia

Early years

Thoroughbred Racing

Death & Legacy

See also

References