Montrell Teague (born January 2, 1991) is an American

harness racing Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia ...

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 Wiggle It Jiggleit (foaled March 27, 2012 in Delaware) 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 Har ...

. He is also noted for becoming the youngest driver to win a major stakes race at

Hoosier Park Harrah's Hoosier Park Racing & Casino is a racino including a standardbred racetrack located in Anderson, Indiana, approximately 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis. It is owned and operated by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. The facility ...

in 2011 at the age of 20.

Personal life

Teague is a

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

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.

Racing career

Teague races mainly at Harrington Raceway,

Dover Downs Bally's Dover Casino Resort, formerly Dover Downs, is a hotel, casino, and racetrack complex in Dover, Delaware. It has a harness horse racing track, which is surrounded by Dover Motor Speedway, a concrete track used for NASCAR motor racin ...

, and

Harrah's Philadelphia Harrah's Philadelphia Casino & Racetrack is a harness racing track and casino (a racino) on the Chester, Pennsylvania waterfront. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by Caesars Entertainment. History The track was built on the site ...

. 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. The two later won the $500,000 Hoosier Cup, making Teague the youngest driver to ever win a major stakes race at

. In 2015, he reached national prominence for his partnership with

, 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 race Harness racing is a form of horse racing in which the horses race at a specific gait (a trot or a pace). They usually pull a two-wheeled cart called a sulky, spider, or chariot occupied by a driver. In Europe, and less frequently in Australia an ...

s of all time. "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. 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 The Canadian Pacing Derby is a race for three-year-old Standardbred Free For All pacers run at a distance of one mile at Woodbine Mohawk Park in Campbellville, Ontario. Historical race events The Canadian Pacing Derby was first run on August 1 ...

Mohawk Racetrack Mohawk Racetrack (renamed Woodbine Mohawk Park in 2018) is a harness racing track in Campbellville, Ontario. It is owned by Woodbine Entertainment Group (known as Ontario Jockey Club until 2001) and is about 40 km southwest of the company's ...

. "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." 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. 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.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Teague, Montrell 1991 births Living people Harness racing in the United States Dan Patch Award winners People from Harrington, Delaware Sportspeople from Kent County, Delaware