Martinez Heath

Who was Martinez Heath?

Martinez "Marty" Heath was a Native American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing. Born on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in Oregon, 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 race track in Portland, Oregon then at other tracks in Oregon, Northern California, and the American Midwest. In 1967, he had seven wins on a single race card at the Fresno Fair Race Track in Fresno, California.

Martinez Heath died at age sixty-one in 2006 and was buried in the cemetery at the mouth of the Warm Springs River.