Northfield: Merriman gets 1,000 wins for the third straight year

Aaron Merriman added to his history-making career on Monday (Dec. 30), becoming the first driver to achieve three straight 1,000-win seasons.

Over the past couple of weeks, Harness Racing fans have been anxiously waiting to see if Merriman would complete the historical task. Merriman came through with seven victories on the day, including three wins at The Meadows earlier in the afternoon.

The well-traveled reinsmen scored the victory in the 14th race aboard Some More Prince trained by William Rhodes.

Merriman wasted no time sending Some More Prince to the lead once the gait sprung. He led Taurus Du Parc (Chris Lems) and Yankees Image (David Lake) through fractions of 28 1/5 and 57 4/5, before taking off past three-quarters of 1:26 3/5, leading Gale Force Hanover (Jason Thompson) and Sass (Hunter Myers) through the stretch. Merriman would not be denied his historic victory as he cruised to a 9-3/4 length victory in 1:56.

"I had some horses with some shots, not my typical night where I drive a bunch of favorites," explained Merriman. "No one appreciates this more than I do. It's a lot of hard work, a lot of family love, and everyone helps me."

In 2018, Merriman became the only driver to score 1,000 wins in back-to-back seasons following a year where he posted 1,095 victories. Merriman, now just 41, continues a torrid schedule, having driven in over 4,000 races the last six seasons.

Aaron Merriman has won more races over Northfield's Flying Turns than any other driver in the track's history.

-edited release (Ayers Ratliff for Northfield)