Hunt Cup Champion! Teddy Davies ‘22

By Mac Kennedy

The first Maryland Hunt Cup took place on May 22, 1894, and was won by Johnny Miller and ridden by John McHenry. McHenry was educated at the Carey School for Boys (Boys’ Latin) before enrolling and graduating from Yale University in 1885. This past spring in the 125th running of the race, considered by experts as one of the most difficult steeplechase races in the world, a BL student won it again. Teddy Davies from the Class of 2022 won the prestigious race in record time aboard Vintage Vinnie.

Teddy has been riding horses practically since he could walk and started racing in junior races when he was around seven years old. He began riding in professional races as soon as he turned 16 - the minimum age allowed for a jockey.

The Davies family has been involved in the Maryland Hunt Cup race for decades. Teddy’s dad, Joe, won the Maryland Hunt Cup three times and his mom, Blythe, won it only once. However, Teddy explained, that’s primarily because Blythe “Became a professional rider and The Hunt Cup is not open to professionals.”

Teddy, on Vintage Vinnie, led from start to finish. Coming down the stretch he could hear the BL crowd cheering him on. He wrote, “It [meant] so much to me to have so much support from all of my peers.” At the year-end athletic awards ceremony at Boys’ Latin, Teddy received a thunderous standing ovation from the entire upper school. “Boys’ Latin has done an outstanding job supporting me in my racing career as well as helping me celebrate all of my wins,” he wrote. events, Teddy doesn’t get nervous when racing because “all of the nerves turn into adrenaline and that’s why I love racing so much. There’s nothing that brings me more joy than the pure rush of adrenaline you get from racing in a big stakes race like that - or really any race.”

Teddy is attending the University of Delaware and hopes to continue riding for as long as he can, but he realizes he needs to stay focused on school and maintain a good balance between the two. He believes Delaware is a perfect fit because it is still right in the heart of the steeplechase racing industry and is only minutes away from the Fair Hills Training Center.

“I just want to say thank you to everyone who has supported me in the early stages of my career, and I still have a long way to go, but I know that I’ll have BL and the rest of my family there to support me.”