JOE HARPER - Director, President & CEO - DEL MAR THOROUGHBRED CLUB
Since assuming management of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in 1978, Joe Harper has guided the historic track founded in 1937 through a period of growth and success unparalleled in America. During this period, Mr. Harper has overseen Del Mar's emergence as one of the nation's top racetracks for daily average handle and attendance while preserving its elegant, yet casual, ambiance, which makes it unique.
Mr. Harper initially came to Del Mar from Santa Anita where he served as Executive Vice President for the Oak Tree Racing Association. At Del Mar he first served as executive vice president and general manager. Then in 1990 he took on the roles of president, chief executive officer and general manager. He has been a director of DMTC since 1985.
Mr. Harper is involved in a wide range of interests. He is a member of The Jockey Club, the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation and the Advisory Board for the University of Arizona Race Track Industry Program. He is the former President of both the Thoroughbred Racing Associations of North America and the Federation of California Racing Associations. He also serves as Chairman of the Advisory Board of the California Center for Equine Health at U.C. Davis, and as Chairman of the Winners Foundation, a drug and alcohol counseling center for the California racing industry. Additionally, he serves on the board of the San Dieguito Boys and Girls Club.
Mr. Harper takes personal pride in serving as a Trustee of the Cecil B. deMille Foundation. Through that Foundation he has been very active in supporting education and film preservation at U.S.C., U.C.L.A., and Chapman University. The deMille Foundation was the major contributor to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for constructing their research center in Beverly Hills. A native Californian, he is the grandson of deMille, the famed producer, and as a child actor appeared in the “Greatest Show on Earth” and “The Ten Commandments.” He and his wife, Barbara, live in Del Mar. They have four daughters and nine grandchildren.
