Martinez "Marty" Heath (May 4, 1945 – October 16, 2006) was a Native American

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

in thoroughbred horse racing. Born on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, Martinez Heath was the son of Chief Nathan Heath. His brother Delvis Heath is the current chief. As a boy, Martinez Heath won the Oregon marbles championship. By age sixteen he had already embarked on a career as a jockey that would last twenty-five years. He began riding professionally at the

Portland Meadows Portland Meadows was an American horse racing venue in Portland, Oregon, owned by The Stronach Group since July 3, 2011 and previously owned by Magna Entertainment Corp., MI Developments Inc. (MID) 2001. Built by William P. Kyne, who also built ...

race track in

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

then at other tracks in Oregon,

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, and the

American Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. In 1967, he had seven wins on a single race card at the Fresno Fair Race Track in

Fresno, California Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, makin ...

. Heath rode the

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, an ...

runner

Nodouble Nodouble (1965–1990) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1967 to 1970, he won eleven races from across the country, including the Arkansas Derby, Hawthorne Gold Cup (twice) and the Santa Anita, B ...

to wins in the 1968 Hawthorne Gold Cup and Michigan Mile And One-Eighth Handicap (1968) the Bend, Oregon Bulletin
/ref> Martinez Heath died at age sixty-one in 2006 and was buried in the cemetery at the mouth of the

Warm Springs River The Warm Springs River is a tributary of the Deschutes River in north-central Oregon in the United States. It flows generally southeast along the east side of the Cascade Range. The watershed is approximately between Mount Jefferson and Timoth ...

References

1945 births 2006 deaths American jockeys Native American sportspeople Sportspeople from Oregon Native American people from Oregon {{US-horseracing-bio-stub