You wouldn’t wish upon your worst enemy the kind of luck that Aaron Merriman has been plagued with the last two days.

Merriman left Northfield Park Friday night tied for the 2015 North American lead in driving victories with George Napolitano Jr. at 812. Since Merriman’s two bases of operation, Northfield and The Meadows, were dark on Saturday, Aaron took a mini-jaunt to California early Saturday to visit his daughter, planning his return flight so that he would be back in Cleveland to drive Northfield’s Sunday night card.

But while Napolitano was ringing up seven winners at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Sunday, Aaron was stuck with a different kind of “seven” — a flight delay that caused him to miss his connecting flight to Cleveland, where he finally arrived Sunday night seven hours later than planned, with the Northfield card all but done.

Aaron bounced right back though on Monday, beginning a string of three Meadows/Northfield doubleheaders (while Napolitano’s action during that period would be limited to Wednesday afternoon, the start of the last four days of the season at Philly).

Only Aaron’s luck didn’t change on Monday, as he rolled “another seven” — seven seconds (along with five thirds and two other check getters), but zero winners in his 23 drives at his two ovals. (To show how well Merriman did on one scale — he had a UDR of .217 going 0-for-23, which is very hard to do).

Merriman was unlucky he ran into three drivers who had very hot hands on Monday. At The Meadows, both perennial leader Dave Palone and Eric Goodell each had five visits to Victory Lane; at Northfield, two-time defending North American dashwinning champion Ron Wrenn Jr. came home first six times (he now has 744 wins in 2015 as the closest driver behind Napolitano/Merriman).

Aaron also didn’t have the best of equine stock in front of him Monday — only once in the 23 races did the public make his horse the favorite (an equal number to the horses he drove that were dismissed at 133-1 or more).

But fear not for Aaron Merriman, a resilient soul, and one who really can say “Time is on my side,” as the Rolling Stones sang. For while George Napolitano Jr. has a seven-win lead going into Tuesday (when he is not racing), he has only four more opportunities to add to his 2015 win total — as he stated that at present he does not intend to drive beyond closing day at Harrah’s Philadelphia this Sunday.

Merriman’s December could include nine more Meadows matinees and at least 16 scheduled night cards at Northfield — both tracks have evening racing planned for Friday (Dec. 18).

It still appears Aaron Merriman will get home first in this particular race — and the memory of these past two unfortunate days will just be a bump in the road in the rearview mirror.