Aaron Merriman set career highs for wins and purses this season. He hopes 2010 is even better
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Merriman entered Monday with 699 victories, good for third among all harness racing drivers in North America, and $5 million in earnings, which topped his previous best by nearly $2 million. Merriman won 612 races and $3.1 million in 2008.
On December 20, Merriman got career driving win No. 4,000 when he guided Premieronbroadway to victory at Northfield Park in Ohio. Merriman lives in Northfield and races primarily at the local track and at The Meadows in western Pennsylvania.
"It's a nice feat. Hopefully, there are more to come," Merriman said about the milestone. "It snuck up on me. It was really neat because it was unexpected. I got my 3,000th last summer (July 19, 2008), which is probably why I didn't think I was close."
The wins have come more rapidly for Merriman over the past four years. Since the start of the 2006 campaign, Merriman has won 2,352 times, an average of 588 per season. He ranks fourth among all drivers in North America during that span, trailing only Tony Morgan (3,407), Tim Tetrick (3,396) and Dave Palone (2,792).
In addition to winning his 4,000th race, Merriman's highlights for 2009 included being the leading dash-winning driver for much of the first half of the year.
"That was really neat," Merriman said. "I didn't get to hang on to it, but it was a nice experience. I'm going to be third, which is pretty respectable. I didn't really push the issue; I just drove regular cards most of the time. I didn't go out of my way to go anywhere else. If it was going to come, it was going to come naturally with my everyday schedule. (In 2010), if it starts off good, it might be something I pursue.
"It would be nice to have something like that on your resume. It's a heck of an accomplishment."
Merriman is the leading driver at Northfield Park and is sixth in the standings at The Meadows. However, since the beginning of July, Merriman ranks No. 2 at The Meadows, behind only perennial track champion Palone.
"I've gotten more opportunities this year and drove a lot of horses for really good trainers at The Meadows," Merriman said. "I was happy to get any opportunity I could.
"I don't put too much pressure on myself. Every year that I drive I become more comfortable and know things don't always happen the way you want them to. I know I've been driving for about 10 years now, but that's a hard thing to realize. I think with success, there's an ease on everything else."
Merriman's most lucrative win this year came with Palazzo Princess in the $300,000 Kentucky Sire Stakes final for three-year-old filly pacers. He also won multiple races on the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes circuit.
"I don't really set goals, I just always want to do better," Merriman said. "I just want to be successful at what I do every day. I'm happy with what I get done."
This story courtesy of Harness Racing Communications, a division of the U.S.
Trotting Association. For more information, visit www.ustrotting.com.