Columbus, OH – Hunter L. Hastings, 71, passed away at home in Florida on April 28 after a three-year battle with cancer. Born in Salisbury, Md., January 22, 1954, to Russell and Louise Hastings. He leaves behind his wife Tici Hastings, daughter Lorie Hastings Hovatter, stepchildren Shannon Baum, Amanda S. Bunting, and Denver Shoemaker. He was grandfather to Hailey, Peyton, Kayla, Maverick and Buxton and a great-grandfather to Palmer.
He raced horses with his father Russell when he was a teenager, learning how to drive under trainer Vic White, stabled at Ocean Downs P Barn for many years.
He was a driver in the 1980s with 791 purse starts, 136 wins, but he started thinking like a trainer and he became a great trainer. He had 1,959 purse starts and won over 1.5 million in purses in the 1990s.
He moved to a farm in central Florida in 2003 and with his wife raised Standardbred babies, notably Alligator Alley (won over $125,000 in Florida Stakes as a 2- and 3-year-old), T’s Electric (won over $356,000 with a mark of 1:48.4) and worked for Erv Miller for a few years at Southern Oaks Training Center, and Kelly O’Donnell at Spring Garden Ranch.
He changed careers and went to work for Barrett Farm, a prestigious hunter jumper farm in Oviedo, Fla. He was a valued member of their team for 12 years, bringing his impressive work ethic and knowledge. They considered him part of their family and was treated as such even after he retired.
After he retired, he enjoyed beach walks, fishing, traveling and playing with his grandsons.
There will be a celebration of his life and a blanket race at Ocean Downs this summer on July 2. It is the first elimination of the Maryland Sire Stakes for 3-year-old filly pacers, which he won a few times. He always said, you must be careful with fillies; you just treat them gentle.