Owner Spotlight: Heath and Sheena Campbell
RESIDE: Benton, AR
- The Campbells (husband and wife) entered April with 10 wins and were a clear third in the owner’s standings.
- Entered Thoroughbred ownership roughly 2 ½ years ago after selling a piece of property in nearby Bonnerdale to trainer Tim Martin. Martin claimed Heath Campbell’s first horse, Dryspell, for $10,000 Feb. 4, 2021, at Oaklawn. Campbell recorded his first career victory June 12, 2021, at Prairie Meadows with the Martin-trained Long Term Thinking. Martin also trained the first winner for Sheena Campbell, Legendary Gift, Nov. 27, 2021, at Delta Downs.
- The Campbells won 3 of 33 starts at the 2021-2022 Oaklawn meeting. Martin trained all three winners. Active at the claim box, the Campbells began March with 18 horses in training, split evenly between Martin and 2020 Oaklawn training champion Robertino Diodoro. Diodoro, through February, had won five races for the Campbells at the 2022-2023 Oaklawn meeting, including the 3,000th of the trainer’s career, Arthurian, Jan. 7. Diodoro is Oaklawn’s leading trainer this season.
- The Campbells are Arkansas natives. Heath grew up about 40 miles southwest of Hot Springs in Caddo Cap. He began attending Oaklawn as a small child and his family ties to Thoroughbred racing include a great-grandmother, Alice Slaff, riding in the 1940s at Caliente in Mexico and a great-grandfather, Aaron Newman, working for Bob Holthus, Oaklawn’s all-time winningest trainer. Sheena is from Lincoln, about 20 miles southwest of Fayetteville. Heath Campbell is chief operations officer of Campbell Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram in Benton.
