Tim Tetrick hits 12,000 win milestone

To view the replay of Tim Tetrick’s 12,000th driving win, click here.

Dover, DE — Tim Tetrick became the seventh driver in North American harness racing history to reach 12,000 wins when he guided Jason Skinner trainee Manone to victory in the third race on Tuesday (Feb. 16) at Dover Downs. The 39-year-old Tetrick is the first driver to accomplish the feat prior to the age of 40.

Tim Tetrick became the first driver to achieve the 12,000-win plateau before reaching the age of 40 with a win aboard Manone on Tuesday at Dover Downs. Fotowon photo.

A native of Illinois, Tetrick grew up in a harness racing family, learning the business from his father, trainer-driver Tom D. Tetrick, and mother, Mary Alice. His early days provided a learning environment that paved the way to his future successes.

“It was cool for me,” Tetrick once said. “I got to start at the bottom and race at the county fairs and help my father out and try to teach young horses to race the right way. At the fairs, in Illinois especially, we could do that. Growing up and learning how to bring a young horse along and race at the fairs was good for me.”

Tetrick got his first win at a county fair in 1998 and his first win at a pari-mutuel racetrack at Fairmount Park in 1999, five days after his 18th birthday. He later spent time racing in Indiana before winning several driving titles on the Chicago circuit in the mid-2000s.

After moving to the East Coast in the fall of 2006, he burst on to the scene nationally in 2007, when he set records with 1,189 wins and $18.3 million in purses. He was named both the Driver of the Year and Rising Star Award winner by the U.S. Harness Writers Association.

The following year, Tetrick rewrote the record for earnings with $19.7 million — a mark that still stands today — and received the second of his four Driver of the Year honors. For his career, he has $228 million in purses, good for No. 3 all time.

Tetrick has ranked among the top 10 drivers in North America in wins every year since 2004 and has led the sport in earnings on nine occasions. He was elected to the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2019 and is scheduled for induction in July.

“I have to thank all the owners and trainers for giving me such great horses to drive,” Tetrick said. “I love getting to do what I do every day. It’s just been an amazing ride.”

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