On Tuesday (Feb. 16) Tim Tetrick became just the seventh driver in North American harness racing to reach the 12,000 win plateau and the first to do so before the age of 40.
Tetrick came into the Tuesday card at Dover Downs needing just one win to hit the 12,000 win milestone and he wasted no time in getting there. With his first drive of the day scratched, Tetrick had to wait until the third race of the card to get a crack at the momentous victory. Sent off as the public choice aboard maiden sophomore Manone at 6-5, Tetrick pointed the Jason Skinner pupil to the top from post seven and made every call a winning one. After fractions of :27.3, :56.4 and 1:25.4, Manone held off a late charge from Pacquiao (Montrell Teague) to win by a length in 1:57.1.
Tim's wife, Ashley, and daughter, Trysta, were present in the winner’s circle and shared in the moment.
With the win, Tetrick joins Dave Palone, Tony Morgan, Herve Filion, Cat Manzi, David Miller and Aaron Merriman as the only members of harness racing's exclusive 12,000 win club.
At the age of 39, Tetrick has already become one of only five drivers to have driven the winners of more than $200 million in his career -- currently third with more than $228 million -- and few doubt he will contend for leader John Campbell’s $299-million career total. He's also the single-season money record holder for a driver with $19.8 million in 2008, and was to be inducted into the U.S. Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2020 before that ceremony was postponed to due the coronavirus pandemic.
Tetrick expressed his gratitude by saying “I’ve been very fortunate to achieve this amount of wins over the years. I’ve had a great deal of owners and trainers who believed in me.” Tetrick had little time to reflect on his accomplishment, as he scored win No. 12,001 aboard Big Expense for trainer Jim King Jr.
(with files from Dover Downs)