Rich Fisher

Trenton, NJ — Jared Cooper had been around harness racing all his life and, like most kids born into the business, he dabbled in it. He never thought about making it a career until he graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in business economics last year.

And now, he’s looking for a degree in the business of Standardbreds, and hopes the economics add up to a lucrative profession.

“I was going to school in Rhode Island, I didn’t like it, and I came home to go to college here,” the Boca Raton resident said. “I was able to be around the horses in the wintertime down here and I kind of got into it. I wanted to learn to be more hands on. I was hoping to go up north last summer but that got canceled because of Covid.”

Jared Cooper with Lucky Artist A, who gave the 23-year-old his first training win Feb. 9 at Pompano Park. Photo courtesy of Jared Cooper.

Cooper’s dad owns Robert Cooper Stables, a small operation with less than 10 horses. Robert Cooper has had some strong horses over the years, including Drop The Ball, Tug River Princess, and Mel Mara.

Robert has certainly been an influence on his son, who has also worked closely with Jeff Webster and Ross Croghan.

“I got my trainer’s license and got a few horses, I’m happy,” he said. “I’m a one-man show. The groom, trainer, everything. I definitely want to go up north this year, hopefully around mid-April. It’s just not set in stone yet. Knock on wood I’ll be able to go up north with my two (horses) and maybe get a couple more.”

One of those horses, Lucky Artist A, gave the 23-year-old his first training win Feb. 9 at Pompano Park. It was the 20th career win for the 8-year-old pacing mare, who Robert Cooper purchased in January at the request of his son.

“She was super competitive at Yonkers,” Cooper said. “I knew she had potential to be an upper-class mare. It’s always a crapshoot when they come down here against a whole different colony of horses. But I knew she had the potential to be an open mare down here.”

Her first several starts with Jared were solid, but he noticed that she tended to get a little hot at times.

“I started working with her, to get her relaxed a little bit,” he said. “I changed a little bit of her equipment coming into the start when she won. She’s a nice mare, she’s so efficient gaited and I knew she was going to be able to go with those horses.”

With Mike Simons in the sulky at Pompano, Cooper provided some advice prior to the race.

“I said if you get her close enough and she’s in the mix she can go with them,” Cooper said.

And that is exactly what Simons did.

“She got away fourth, :27 at the quarter, :55.3 at the half,” Cooper recalled. “Right past the half Mike sent her first over, they went down the backside, she went :26.4 on the backstretch. She’s just so tough, she didn’t give an inch and down the stretch she just cleared them. It’s a pretty competitive group of mares down here, there were five all about a length apart at the wire. She won by half a length.

Lucky Artist A captured Pompano Park’s feature for mares on Feb. 9 in a lifetime best 1:51.1. Dee Leftwich photo.

“When she won, I was really happy, obviously. It was my 10th start as a trainer, I had three seconds and a third. When it doesn’t happen it feels like it’s going to take forever, but eventually you just keep digging in. If you keep at it, your horses will do good for you and that’s where I’m at now.”

Where he wants to be in another few months is New Jersey, where he hopes to stay with Webster and perhaps add to his current stable of two.

“I’ve had horses with Jeff and Ross for years, I’ve known those guys forever,” Cooper said. When they moved their horses from the South Florida Training Center to Sunshine Meadows, that was literally 10 minutes from my front door. I started going there a lot more and becoming a lot more hands on.

“Jeff taught me a lot, he’s like an uncle to me. Ross Croghan has helped me, I’ve learned a lot from my dad. I just try to learn something new from everyone every day, whether it’s a blacksmith, another trainer, whoever I can.”

Cooper brings a kind of energetic youth that can only help the sport. He was previously a USTA Youth Delegate until he aged out.

“I would guess 99 percent of the young kids in harness racing are born into it, whether it’s a grandfather or parent or aunt. I think it’s important they stay interested,” Cooper said. “Without them there’s not much of a future. I think there’s so much money in the industry there will always be a niche for it.”

As for now, Cooper is trying to find his niche and hopes he can do so in New Jersey.

“I want to get my feet wet and give it the best shot I can and also want to get out of Florida for the summer, it’s so brutal hot down here,” he said. “I want to break away, give it a shot and whatever happens, happens.”