Standardbred horseman and racing official Daniel W. Camac, 83, passed away on February 10, 2020, in Florida where he and his wife, Flo, lived in retirement.
Camac was born in Dover, Delaware in 1936, attended Dover schools, and later served his country honourably in the U.S. Army. After his service, Camac became a Dover police officer. He was a graduate of the FBI academy and later was a supervisor with the Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles overseeing offices in all three Delaware counties.
Camac was a longtime member of the USTA as an owner, trainer, driver and breeder, managing the family stable with his wife on their farm in Magnolia, Delaware.
He was very active in horsemen’s politics and served as a director for the Cloverleaf Standardbred Owners Association. He later left Cloverleaf with other Delaware directors on CSOA’s board to establish the Delaware Standardbred Owners Association in 1997. Camac was a director on the DSOA board for several terms before retiring, and later he was honoured as DSOA’s second-ever director emeritus.
As one of the founding directors of DSOA, Camac was part of a core group of directors who established DSOA as the voice for Delaware harness horsemen and women. Among the many programs he and the core group established were a horsemen’s pension plan that is now in its 20th year, and comprehensive and affordable health, dental, vision and life insurance programs including supplemental medicare coverage and worker’s compensation coverage.
Camac was also very active in helping to elevate Delaware horsemen’s profile in the general assembly, hand picking and hiring their first lobbyist who still works for DSOA today. He worked tirelessly throughout his life to promote harness racing, racing integrity and equitable oversight of the industry.
Daniel is survived by his wife, Flo; and sons, Scott and Daniel (D.W.).
He will be greatly missed by the Delaware harness racing community.
Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Daniel Carmac.
(USTA)