John D. Campbell biography
John D. Campbell, (born April 8, 1955, Ailsa Craig, Ontario, Canada), Canadian harness racing driver who was North America’s main cash winner and a six-time champion on the Hambletonian (1987, 1988, 1990, 1995, 1998, and 2006), the highest race for three-year-old trotters.
Campbell absorbed the fundamentals of horsemanship from his father and grandfather after which set off within the early Nineteen Seventies to tracks within the Detroit, Michigan–Windsor, Ontario, space. When the Meadowlands racetrack opened in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in late 1976, Campbell relocated there, distinguishing himself together with his driving abilities and professionalism. In 1979, at age 24, he ranked because the richest driver in harness racing, his horses having earned greater than $3.3 million.
Between 1982 and 2002, Campbell ranked both first or second in cash earnings amongst all drivers in North America. He achieved a milestone in 1982 when Merger, a pacer he educated and drove, received the Little Brown Jug (the highest North American race for three-year-old pacers), however he quickly gave up coaching to focus on driving. He drove Mack Lobell to victory in document time within the 1987 Hambletonian; the following 12 months he and Mack Lobell defeated Europe’s best trotters in Sweden’s prestigious Elitlopp. In 1990, at age 35, Campbell grew to become the youngest individual ever inducted into the Living Hall of Fame on the Harness Racing Museum in Goshen, New York. The following 12 months he drove Armbro Keepsake to victory within the Breeders Crown and have become the primary harness driver to go $100 million in profession earnings. In 1995 he drove the winners of each the Hambletonian and the Little Brown Jug.
After attaining his greatest season in 2001 (with greater than $14 million in earnings), Campbell was severely injured in a racing accident in 2003 and missed a number of months on the monitor. He additionally misplaced time in 2004 when he aggravated that damage. When Campbell turned 50 in 2005, many thought that his star was waning, however in 2006 he drove Triple Crown-winning trotter Glidemaster to victory within the Hambletonian and the Kentucky Futurity. In February 2007 the U.S. Harness Writers Association awarded Campbell the title of 2006 Driver of the Year. Although Flirtin Man, the primary horse for which he was co-owner in addition to driver, broke stride within the 2007 Hambletonian, Campbell drove Corleone Kosmos to victory within the Nat Ray Invitational on the identical race card. By the top of the 2007 season, he had turn into the primary harness racing driver to surpass $250 million in profession winnings. He achieved one other milestone on July 12, 2008, when he earned his 10,000th profession victory as a driver.
In 2017 Campbell retired. His profession totals included 10,688 victories and purse winnings of almost $300 million.