Montrell Teague | |
---|---|
Born | United States | January 2, 1991
Career wins | 2,337 (as of July 17, 2024) |
Major racing wins | |
Little Brown Jug (2015) Meadowlands Pace (2015) Canadian Pacing Derby (2016) North America Cup (2018) | |
Racing awards | |
2015 Rising Star Award | |
Significant horses | |
Wiggle It Jiggleit, Lather Up |
Montrell Teague (born January 2, 1991) is an American harness racing driver. He won the 2015 Dan Patch Rising Star Award at the age of 24 after winning the Little Brown Jug and Meadowlands Pace with 2015 Harness Horse of the Year Wiggle It Jiggleit. He is also noted for becoming the youngest driver to win a major stakes race at Hoosier Park in 2011 at the age of 20.
Teague is a Delaware native, the son of well known horseman George Teague Jr., who owns Teague Stable and Farm in Harrington, Delaware. His father started to teach him to drive when he was about 10 years old. [1]
Teague races mainly at Harrington Raceway, Dover Downs, and Harrah's Philadelphia. In 2010, he won two $100,000 Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund championships with No Bad Luck. In 2011, he scored his first major win in the $300,000 Max Hempt Memorial with Custard the Dragon, owned and trained by his father. [2] [1] The two later won the $500,000 Hoosier Cup, making Teague the youngest driver to ever win a major stakes race at Hoosier Park. [3]
In 2015, he reached national prominence for his partnership with Wiggle It Jiggleit, earning Teague the Dan Patch Rising Star Award. The highlight of the year was their victory in the Little Brown Jug, widely considered to be one of the greatest harness races of all time. [4] [5] "I had a guy come up to me a few days later at (Harrah's Philadelphia) and he said 'I've been watching harness racing for 50 years and I want to say thank you for giving me the thrill of my lifetime, to watch the best race I've ever seen.' I never would have expected that," recalled Teague in a later interview. [6] The pair's other wins included the Meadowlands Pace, Carl Milstein Memorial Pace, Matron Male Stakes and Hap Hansen Progress Pace.
In 2016, Teague continued to travel around North America with Wiggle It Jiggleit, with major wins including the Dan Patch Stakes at Hoosier Park and Canadian Pacing Derby at Mohawk Racetrack. "A lot of horses can't travel around like that and still race good," said Teague. "He's the exception. I've never seen it done. It hasn't bothered him yet. Harrington is his home, but we've only raced him there once. It seems like everywhere has been his home track. When people know he is racing at their track, they try to make it out there to see him live." [6]
Teague earned his 1,000th career win with Henry The Dragon on September 27, 2016 in a $20,000 division of the Delaware Standardbred Breeders Fund stakes. [7]
In 2018, Teague won the Pepsi North America Cup for the first time with Lather Up. As the horse's main driver, he won the William R. Haughton Memorial, the Dan Patch Stakes, and the Ohio Sires Stakes final, among others. He also became the second driver to win a race in 1:46 when he and Lather Up won the Graduate Series Final in 2019.
As of 2024, Teague has won more than 2,300 races and earnings of more than $34 million.
The Little Brown Jug is a harness race for three-year-old pacing standardbred horses hosted by the Delaware County Agricultural Society since 1946 at the Delaware County Fairgrounds racetrack in Delaware, Ohio. The race takes place every year on the third Thursday after Labor Day.
Precious Bunny is a bay Standardbred pacer and sire.
Niatross (1977–1999) was an American champion standardbred race horse that many believe was the greatest harness horse of all time.
The Meadowlands Racetrack is a horse racing track at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The track hosts both thoroughbred racing and harness racing. It is known popularly in the region as "The Big M". Meadowlands has year-round horse racing as well as a number of bars and restaurants.
Somebeachsomewhere (2005–2018) was a Standardbred Race Horse who, as a three-year-old, tied the world record for a mile at The Red Mile with a time of 1:46.4 and earned $3,221,299. In 2008, he had the highest earnings by a pacer in a single season of $2,448,003.
The Harness Horse of the Year is an honor recognizing the top harness racing horse in the United States. The award is selected by the United States Harness Writers Association (USHWA), which issues the annual Dan Patch Awards.
Gallo Blue Chip is a Standardbred harness racing horse who earned $4.2 million in total winnings during his racing career. Gallo Blue Chip's sire was Magical Mike, and his dam was Camatross. Magical Mike's sire was Tyler B., and his dam was Racing Date; Camatross' sire was Albatross, and her dam was Bye Bye Camille.
Wiggle It Jiggleit is a champion American Standardbred racehorse. At the age of three, he won 22 of 26 starts including the Little Brown Jug and Meadowlands Pace, earning him the Dan Patch Award for 2015 Harness Horse of the Year. At age four, he repeatedly dueled with Always B Miki, to whom he finished second in the 2016 Horse of the Year balloting.
Michel "Mike" Lachance is a retired harness racing driver. Widely recognized as among the best drivers of all time, his outstanding career began in 1967 in Quebec City. At retirement, he had won 10,253 races and purses totalling $187,710,149. He has been inducted into both the United States and Canadian Harness Racing Halls of Fame.
The Breeders Crown Open Trot is a harness racing event for Standardbred trotters. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred trotters and pacers. The Open Trot for horses age four and older was first run in 1985. It is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America.
The Breeders Crown 3YO Colt & Gelding Pace is a harness racing event for three-year-old Standardbred male pacers. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred pacers and trotters. First run in 1985, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America.
The Breeders Crown Open Mare Pace is a harness racing event for four-year-old and older Standardbred mare pacers. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred pacers and trotters. First run in 1986, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America.
The Breeders 2YO Colt & Gelding Pace is a harness racing event for two-year-old Standardbred male pacers. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred pacers and trotters. First run in 1985, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America.
The Breeders Crown 2YO Filly Pace is a harness racing event for two-year-old standardbred filly pacers. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred pacers and trotters. First run in 1985, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America.
The Breeders Crown 3YO Filly Trot is a harness racing event for three-year-old Standardbred filly trotters. It is one part of the Breeders Crown annual series of twelve races for both Standardbred trotters and pacers. First run in 1984, it is contested over a distance of one mile. Race organizers have awarded the event to various racetracks across North America.
Yannick Gingras is a Canadian harness racing driver. He is statistically one of the top drivers of all time with more than 8,000 wins and $230 million in earnings. He was inducted into the Harness Racing Hall of Fame in 2022.
The Woodrow Wilson Pace was a harness racing major event for two-year-old Standardbred pacers run from 1977 through 2012 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Always B Miki is a Champion American Standardbred pacer. As a younger horse, he raced mainly at Hoosier Park in Indiana but came to national prominence in his three-year-old season. Favored to win the final of the Breeders Crown 3YO Colt & Gelding Pace, the colt fractured his leg before the race and needed to undergo surgery. After a long layoff, he returned to win the 2015 Breeders Crown Open Pace. At age five, he won several major races and set multiple speed records including a world record of 1:46 at The Red Mile. He received the 2016 Dan Patch Award for Harness Horse of the Year.
Bettor's Delight is a former champion American Standardbred race-horse and one of the World's greatest stud stallions.
Bulldog Hanover is a retired champion Canadian Standardbred racehorse who is known for becoming the first harness horse to complete a mile in under 1:46. He was also the first horse to be unanimously selected as the Dan Patch Horse of the Year. He has been likened to legends Somebeachsomewhere and Niatross and is considered to be among the best harness horses of all time. Bulldog Hanover was inducted into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 2023.