Aaron Merriman reached 17,000 career driving wins, becoming the third driver ever to do so in North America, on Tuesday, Nov. 25 at Northfield Park as he scored with Baby Yoda as part of a five-win night.
In the milestone-accomplishing drive, Merriman rocketed out from the outside post eight with the 5-1 Baby Yoda, who outlasted the relentless onslaught from the first-over favourite Shady Maple Alstar (Kurt Sugg) to win by a half-length in 1:58.2 on a sloppy track. Esteso (Keith Kash Jr.) finished third. The winning gelding, a seven-year-old son of Break The Bank K-Sugar, is trained by Cory Kreiser.
Merriman has topped the sport’s dash-winning leaderboard since 2015 and produced the second-most prolific season on record when he racked up 1,114 wins in 2018. He has 827 victories this year and is more than 80 clear atop the national standings. The 47-year-old Greater Akron, Ohio native made his driving debut in 1997 and since then, in addition to his 17,001 wins, has recorded more than $135.5 million in earnings through more than 88,700 starts.
“I’m unbelievably grateful to be in this position," Merriman said after the milestone win. "I’ve had the privilege of working with great trainers, owners and horses throughout my career, and none of this happens without them. It’s special to get a milestone like this here at Northfield, a place that means so much to me.”
Merriman’s other victories on the 15-race card came with Bettor B Sirius ($2.40), Mae Knows It All ($3.40), Jack My Style ($3.80), and Rose Run Alex ($2.80). The perennial king of Northfield has more wins than any other driver in history at his home track and was inducted into its Wall of Fame in 2013. He is ahead of second-placed Chris Lems by 264 wins in the local standings this season.
The reinsman, third all-time in career wins, is now fewer than 1,000 away from second-placed Tony Morgan, who took his 18,000th win at Dover earlier in the day.
(Standardbred Canada with files from Northfield Park)