John P. Campo, Sr. was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racehorse trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

.

Campo was born in East Harlem

Spanish Harlem

East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem and El Barrio, is a section of Harlem in the northeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. East Harlem is one of the largest predominantly Latino communities in New York City. It includes the area formerly known as Italian Harlem, in which...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and raised in Ozone Park, Queens

Ozone Park, Queens

Ozone Park is a working class neighborhood located in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens bordering Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach, and City Line, Brooklyn....

. He is best known as the trainer of 1981 Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

 and Preakness Stakes

Preakness Stakes

The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...

 winner, Pleasant Colony

Pleasant Colony

Pleasant Colony was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the first two legs of the 1981 U.S. Triple Crown series....

. Among his other notable horses, John Campo conditioned both of 1973's 2-year-old Eclipse Award winners

Eclipse Award

The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...

, the Champion 2-Year-Old Filly

Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Filly

The American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually to a female horse in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....

 Talking Picture, the exceptional Jim French

Jim French (horse)

Jim French , was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was bred by Ralph Wilson, owner of the National Football League Buffalo Bills. He was by Graustark and out of Dinner Partner. Despite his first-rate pedigree, Jim French was small and dull brown.Trained by John P...

, and Champion 2-Year-Old Colt

Eclipse Award for Outstanding 2-Year-Old Male Horse

The American Champion Two-Year-Old Male Horse is an American Thoroughbred horse racing honor awarded annually in Thoroughbred flat racing. It became part of the Eclipse Awards program in 1971....

, Protagonist.

In January 1986, Campo suffered a devastating loss when thirty-six of his horses died when a fire swept through his racetrack barn at Belmont Park

Belmont Park

Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...

.

After suffering a stroke

Stroke

A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

, John Campo retired in 1996. During his thirty years training horses he saddled 1,431 winners from 12,826 starters. He was living in Hewlett, New York

Hewlett, New York

Hewlett is a hamlet and census-designated place in Nassau County, New York on the South Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the CDP population was 6,819....

 on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

 when he died in 2005. He is buried at Pinelawn Memorial Park in Melville, Long Island

Melville, New York

Melville is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Huntington in Suffolk County on Long Island, New York, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, 14,533 people resided there.-Location:...

. His son, Paul J. Campo, is the racing secretary for the New York Racing Association

New York Racing Association

The New York Racing Association, Inc. is the not-for-profit corporation that operates the three largest thoroughbred horse-racing tracks in the state of New York. It runs Aqueduct Racetrack in South Ozone Park, Queens, Belmont Park in Elmont, Long Island , and Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga...

.