by Jerry Connors

Harrisburg, PA — Aaron Merriman claimed eight wins on Tuesday (Nov. 10) between The Meadows (two) and Northfield (six) to raise his 2015 victory total to 736. He is going into Wednesday 12 behind George Napolitano Jr., who won three times at Pocono to get him to 748.

What is remarkable about Merriman’s “snowman” (a golf term; look at what the character “8” looks like) is that he got his eight wins in eight consecutive races that he drove — and after achieving the eight, he lost by a neck in his next race, and by three-quarters of a length in the race after that — those were the last two of the night at Northfield.

Merriman won his last two drives at The Meadows Tuesday, races 13 and 15 (he did not drive in the 14th), after not having won earlier on The Meadows’ card. He arrived at Northfield in time for the sixth, won, did not have a drive in races seven and eight, and then won nine-10-11-12-13. In the 14th, he was caught by a neck after having a four length lead at the three-quarters, and as noted he came three-quarters of a length shy in the 15th.

The record for a driver’s most consecutive drives resulting in wins in one day at one track is eight. Stephane Bouchard did a “natural” by winning the first eight races at Yonkers Raceway on March 8, 2003 (lost in the ninth, and then won the 10th), while Brad Kramer and Jim Morrill Jr. both won all eight drives they had on a card one day — Kramer at the Gladwin County Fair (MI) on July 20, 2005, races three, seven, eight, nine, 10, 13, 14, and 15, while Morrill achieved his feat at Tioga Downs on July 18, 2009, with wins in two, three, four, six, seven, eight, nine, and 10. Ten drivers are listed having won seven consecutive spins in the sulky at one track in one day.

Bouchard’s achievement set another record — he won his last three drives of the afternoon at Freehold, in the ninth, 10th, and 13th races, so that means that between Freehold and Yonkers he won 11 straight times he sat in the sulky that day.

Merriman has doubleheader action today at The Meadows and Northfield; Napolitano will have a doubleheader today too, at Harrah’s Philadelphia and at Pocono.