Jack Short was a legend from a time when fans flocked to witness the thrill of live horse racing at the tracks in Vancouver and Greater Victoria. As a track announcer, his trademark "And there they go" got people's attention, especially if they hadn't yet placed their bet. A former local stable boy and apprentice jockey who was around tracks from age 11, Jack experienced almost every aspect of the business, from riding, being a jockey's agent and trainer to ownership and breeding. But it was calling the races that earned him his most enduring reputation. He began in 1933 by recreating races on Vancouver radio station CKMO - complete with sound effects - and graduated to the real thing in 1934. He became "The Voice of the Races" calling races live and on radio, on both sides of Georgia Strait, including the Willows, Colwood and Sandown tracks around Victoria. By the time he broadcast his final "Adios Amigos" in 1982, he had called almost 48,000 races and missed just three days of work.

A natural mechanic who loved to tinker with cars and get the most out of them, Cooper was a stalwart in the days of the old Langford Speedway in the 1940s. He learned the game on the dirt and by the time the speedway closed to make way for a school expansion in 1950, he was one of the highest winning drivers at the track. After further success in the northwest, Cooper and a group of drivers and builders started the new Western Speedway 1953. In the first season he won both the sprint car and big car points race. In 1957 and '58, he won five feature events and captured his third and fourth season points championships. His overall win total was more than 200 races at the new track. He shifted gears and moved into the super stock division after that and retired as a driver in 1974. He was among the inaugural inductees into the Victoria Auto Racing Hall of Fame.