Odds On Racing - Harness Racing

Tetrick Nails Victory #1078, 1079 & 1080!!

November 28, 2007

Tim Tetrick broke the world record for wins in a single season with his 1,078th victory of 2007 on Tuesday night (Nov. 27) at Dover Downs.

Tetrick, 26, got the win on a pacing mare, Martin Scharf's Stonebridge Kisses, taking the lead in the final eighth of the mile for the win in 1:51.4. The previous record of 1,077 was set by Walter Case, Jr. in 1998. Tetrick, a native of Geff, Ill., also broke the world record for single season earnings by a driver earlier this month. His current earnings on the racetrack are in excess of $16.4 million in 2007 alone.

Tetrick was joined in the winner's circle by his parents, Tom and Mary Alice, who drove 13 hours from their farm in southern Illinois for the occasion, and his girlfriend, Ashley Viater.

“I was happy when I won 1,000 races lifetime, I wasn’t thinking about this,” Tetrick said. “It’s a relief, but it’s been a lot of fun. There really wasn’t any pressure because no one was supposed to break this record. It’s a great achievement. It’s pretty neat.”

Tetrick has taken only four days off from driving in 2007 and intends to continue his schedule to put the record as far beyond reach as possible.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do for an encore,” he says. “It’s been a joy ride. It’s hard for me to picture how big this really is because I’ve been doing it. From the outside looking in, it’s a bigger feat. When I have time to look back, I’ll be like, ‘How’d I do that?’ I don’t know how to put it into words.”

Tetrick had tied the former record of 1,077 by piloting Warren Racing Stable's S A Cheerleader to victory for his second winner of the night. His first win on the card came by guiding Vivere to a 1:53.1 score for Albert Windo and co-owner/trainer Billy Moffett.

Tetrick would add two more winners later on the program, for a total of five victories on Dover's 15-race Tuesday card, giving him a season's total of 1,080 at the end of the night.

Earlier this month, Tetrick extended his record for earnings in a single year – upping his purses to $16.3 million through November 25. Brian Sears held the previous mark of $15 million, established in 2005. Tetrick’s earnings this season nearly equal his earnings for the past five years combined.

Other highlights this year for Tetrick include becoming the youngest driver to reach 3,000 lifetime wins (May 28 at Harrington Raceway), the youngest driver to win a million-dollar race (Art Rooney Pace on June 2 at Yonkers Raceway; he added the Meadowlands Pace in July), and setting the record for most driving wins in a single calendar month (120 in June).

Tetrick will be the first driver since Jack Moiseyev in 1991 to lead North America in wins and purses and the first non-Meadowlands Racetrack regular to claim the earnings crown since Carmine Abbatiello in 1978.

“Mind boggling; that’s the only word I can think of,” said Tetrick, who was featured in Sports Illustrated and USA Today last week. “It’s been amazing. I hope I can finish up strong and do OK. It’s been great. Again, you have to thank the trainers and owners for having confidence in me to drive for them and be in the big leagues. Thank God I’ve been able to perform well enough to keep getting the better horses to drive.”