While driver John Campbell was out on the track setting records and winning huge races, his wife Paula Campbell was a huge part of the equation behind the scenes helping with his barn in the early years and raising their three daughters.  A mainstay at the track since she was 9 years old, Paula also co-founded the Standardbred Retirement Foundation and served as its President for over 30 years.  We chatted with Paula to discuss her journey in the sport and hopefully get some juicy stories from her time observing the major players in the industry. Did she divulge any secrets? Read on to find out. How did your path in harness racing begin? When I was about 9 my parents owned horses and then they got a divorce when I was about 12 and my mother married a trainer. I helped my step-father Herman Van Zønneveld train and jog, so I was involved before I met John [Campbell, husband]. My step-father was actually stabled in the same barn as John, so that is how I first even heard his name. If you never met your husband John Campbell, would you have been involved in the sport? I would hope so in some way. I planned to go to college to become a vet. I wasn't in college yet but I was still thinking about it. Then I met him at 19 and married him that year, so it never really happened. Those betting probably don't know it but you spent more time at the track than most "regulars". Was it simply to show John support or more a love for the sport? A little of both. I loved showing him support and watching him race. I also loved the sport. I watched more races than John did.  It seemed you were in the same seat every time I showed up at the track. Was it superstition or coincidence that became habit? In the old Meadowlands I always sat in the same seat and when they moved to the new building I just found it very comfortable in the last seat at the bar. I could watch the races or look outside. It became a little superstitious. One of your passions is the Standardbred Retirement Foundation which you co-founded. How did that come about?  In 1989, Judy Bachman came up to me at an event in Florida at one of those award dinners, I was actually pregnant with my last child, and she asked if I wanted to be involved with retiring racehorses. I said "sure". I have recently resigned from being the President, just because I had done it for 32 years and I thought it was time for someone else to be President. I still really believe in the charity and we are the only adoption agency for horses that keep track of the horses, which makes us different than any other agency. We hold the coggins and keep track of them every year. We have the right to go get them if they aren't taken care of properly. It is still a passion of mine. I never worked in the office. I only did the fundraisers and raised money for the horses. I never took a salary.  In some ways isn't it harder to raise money than work in the office? Yeah, people see me coming and think, "what does she want now?"   Have you held any other jobs inside of the industry? I helped John train a little. He had a stable of 25 when we got married. After about a year-and-a-half I got pregnant and raised three wonderful daughters. I was a stay-at-home mom who raised three brilliant, smart and beautiful girls that went off to universities.  What kind of car do you drive? I have a 3-series BMW. I like a smaller car. Favorite dinner meal? Snack? Steak; Popcorn. What is your favorite track to visit? Why? The Meadowlands. It is like home and I have a lot of good memories there. What is your favorite big event in racing? Why? The Hambletonian. There is nothing like it. Now more than ever with my husband being the President of the Hambletonian Society, it is something I look forward to every year. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter How often are horses or racing on your mind? John is still really involved so we talk a lot about horses. We just don't go to the races every weekend like we used to.  What is your favorite thing to do outside of hanging out at the track? Golf. I think I read somewhere that you have made multiple hole-in-ones in golf?  I have four of them, but as you get older you aren't as good as you used to be. What is your favorite sport to watch? Team? Hockey -- New Jersey Devils. They are not as good now as they were. We used to know a lot of the players but they are all retired now. What is one thing about you most fans/bettors don't know? I've never bet on John. I only bet when he wasn't in the race. Actually, in 1986 I bet an exacta with him and Jack Parker and at the head of the stretch they both went down. I never bet on him again. I just felt like I jinxed him. Do you like to bet? I don't mind betting but I'm not very good at it.  What is one word that describes harness racing for you? Memories. What was your best moment in harness racing? Merger winning the Little Brown Jug in 1982. We owned a third of him. You spent some time as an owner. Which is the best horse you've ever owned? The best we owned would probably be Merger but my favorite was Keystone Shore. She was the grandmama of all the other horses we owned. She was a great broodmare, great horse and wonderful to be around. She loved Pepperidge Farm oatmeal cookies and liked to have a beer after the races.  You also did a bit of driving in the early 1990s. What made you get in the bike? Why did you stop? I just thought it would be fun. I used to train and jog with John. I won a couple of races. I wasn't great at it but I had fun. It got very hard to find a horse because John didn't have a stable and he would have to go to someone to find one. The last time I drove, John told me to go up to Billy O'Donnell and ask him about this horse. His name was Iroquonindianchief. I asked O'Donnell and he said, "Ugg. He can't leave Paula, so don't leave with him. He can't follow very good either. Why would John give you this horse?" I was like, "great!" How did you and John meet? My step-father Herman had a very small stable of four horses and his owners decided they wanted to put a different driver down. They said he should put a leading driver down and stop driving himself. I was very upset because we had such a small stable and I thought it was rotten that they did that to him. He put this guy named John Campbell down. I got the program and said to Herman, "he's not even in the top 20 drivers. Who the hell is John Campbell?" He said that he's a nice guy and I know him and his father. He's a good kid. John won the race and his best friend Shelly Goudreau claimed him from us. So I really didn't ever want to hear John's name again. That was in February. Fast forward to May, my best girlfriend Lella McIlmurray, who was the post parade marshal there, said she wanted to introduce me to someone. I asked, "Who is it?" and she said John Campbell. I said, "No." She told me to just come meet him. We met, got engaged, and married in October. The only time he could take a honeymoon was in October when the two tracks [Hazel Park and Wolverine] were switching over. So it was either get married then or wait another year. I was 19 and he was 21. We were young. What do you know then? What is the secret to being married for more than four decades? The secret for us is we grew up together. People wait to get married and have all this stuff that they are used to doing. We were such babies that we grew up together and nothing is a shock to us. It is just easy. We renew our vows every 20 years just in case we forget and have been married for 45 years. Is it difficult being the wife of perhaps the greatest harness driver in history? No, I don't know any different. He's just John to me and he still takes out the garbage. How has life changed for you with John no longer driving and now the CEO and President of the Hambletonian Society? When we go to the races it is not as thrilling to watch. There are no ups and downs of racing anymore, which is great because I don't like those downs. It's just different now. As someone who has observed the sport for decades, is there an interesting story you can share that won't get you in trouble? I have to take my stories to the grave. I have a lot of stories that I can't divulge. I'm the last of the First Wives Club, there's only me and I think Micheline Lachance left.  If you had the power to change one thing in the sport, what would it be? I'd get the people next to the horses like in Thoroughbred racing. People love it. These animals are beautiful and it is such a bonding experience. We keep our people so separated from them. In Thoroughbred racing they have a walking ring and people get right next to them. We need to do that.  How do you view the future of harness racing? I'm hoping we continue to get the bad people out and get the good people to step up, which they have. I have a lot of optimism for it.  Time for the stretch drive.  Best Horse you ever saw: Mack Lobell. Best Trainer: My brother-in-law Jim Campbell. Nobody gives 110% like he does. Lasix -- Yes or No?: No, unless I own a horse that bleeds. Favorite TV Show?: Forensic Files. Trotters or Pacers?: Pacers. All of my babies were pacers.