Theresa Wasielak McInnis

Theresa "Terri" Esther Wasielak was one of the first licensed female harness race drivers in New England. She was a harness racing driver, trainer, and owner.

Terri was born in New Britain, Connecticut on 16 January 1942. She was the daughter of Stephen J. "Smitty" Wasielak and Rita L. Auclair. She graduated from Berlin High School in 1960. She later lived in Middlefield.

Stephen Wasielak bought his first standardbred horse around 1955. After high school, Terri began training horses with her father, then with other trainers, such as Homer Harp, with whom she was an assistant trainer. On April 9, 1971, she made her debut as a harness racing driver at the Green Mountain Racetrack in Pownal, Vermont, racing with her 9 year old trotter Jewell Tag. She finished sixth in a field of nine.

Her primary residence was in Connecticut, but she traveled from track to track across the East Coast from Maine to Florida until 1973. In 1973, she moved to Florida. In 1980, she married J. Thomas McInnis (d. 1990), another driver-trainer-owner, and the couple moved to Delaware. After her husband's death, Terri moved back to Florida with their daughter, Kathleen Mary McInnis, and she retired from harness horse racing. She retired from the shipping and receiving department of Target in 2009.

She died on 21 June 2025 in Biloxi, Mississippi.

Sources:

Girl to drive in horse race. (1971, Aug 14). The Hartford Courant (1923-) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/girl-drive-horse-race/docview/550901502/se-2

Terry wasielak makes green mountain debut. (1971, Apr 11). The Hartford Courant (1923-) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/terry-wasielak-makes-green-mountain-debut/docview/550791042/se-2

Winters, B. (1971, Apr 16). Grist from the sports mill. The Hartford Courant (1923-) Retrieved from https://www.proquest.com/historical-newspapers/grist-sports-mill/docview/550787488/se-2

McInnis, Theresa Esther Obituary, Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home, June 2025.