Marc Campbell still finds himself on the road to recovery following a scary-looking spill just before Christmas at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park.
Campbell, who was driving the Vaughan Doyle-trained Scoot Out Of Here, suffered a number of injuries when his charge fell just past the half-mile marker on the December 22, 2020 program at the PEI oval.
“I don’t remember a whole lot of it,” Campbell told Trot Insider when recently asked about what took place in the race. “My horse must have caught a shoe or a piece of equipment or something. She put in a step and I gathered her up, but she just dropped. I was flipped out of the bike and knew I was going to get hit pretty hard from behind.”
Campbell and his horse were slammed into by traffic in his rear-view mirror, and as a result he was eventually sent to hospital to deal with a laundry list of injuries.
“My hand hurt at first, but nothing else,” claimed Campbell. “The ambulance guys checked me out and that’s really the only thing that was bothering me at the time. I drove a couple more races, but by then when the adrenaline started to wear off I could feel myself getting sore all over.”
Campbell later made his way to nearby hospital where it was discovered he’d suffered a broken wrist on his right hand, he’d broken the scaphoid bone on his right hand, he’d sprained his left wrist and he’d broken a number of ribs on the left side of his body.
“It sucks because it was bad timing,” added Campbell. “I was on the verge of hitting my milestone (2,500 wins), but I had to wait until later in January to get it.”
Despite missing a number of cards at the end of the year, Campbell captured his 11th consecutive driving title at Charlottetown Driving Park in 2020. After returning to the racebike on Jan. 16 and driving again a week later, he reassessed his situation.
“I didn’t feel right in the bike the last night I drove, so I just took time and healed myself,” he stated. “The last time I talked to my orthopaedic surgeon he said I should leave the brace on my wrist for another three weeks. I’m hoping with some more physiotherapy I can be back to normal sooner than later. I’ve actually listened to the doctor pretty well...I want to be healthy and ready to rock when we get back to racing.”
There’s plenty of reason for Campbell to be excited to take his time and get sounded up. He has some nice prospects in the barn, and he’s anxious to see what they’re made of come stakes season.
“We’ve got some really nice babies,” claimed Campbell. “I have just three Maritime breds, but they look OK. I’ve got a Muscle Hill colt and I’m pretty pumped about him. He’s small, but everything’s perfect about him. He’s well-bred, but small. He’s kind of cool.
“I’ve got an Artspeak filly -- two of them in fact -- that are showing some promise, too,” he added. “Time To Dance (a winner of eight-in-a-row including last year’s Gold Cup & Saucer) started back a few weeks ago, and he’s filled out and looks even bigger and better than he did last year. So I’m excited for him and some pacing mares in the barn, as well.”
Despite the setback, Campbell is taking everything in stride. After all, when life gives you lemons the best thing to do is make lemonade.
“Since I’m not at the races I’ve been able to take my kids to the rink more than I’ve been able to in the past,” said the father of four. “I’m trying to make the best of a bad situation.”