Washington, PA — Here is this week’s Meadows Monday Memo.

SPRING SERIES ON THE HORIZON
As The Meadows clears away the first major snowfall of the winter, thoughts are already turning to the unofficial start of the 2024 stakes schedule — the annual Spring Early & Late Closers. The Meadows’ Race Office has announced eight series for younger pacers and trotters. The March events will feature 3- and 4-year-olds, while the 3-year-olds will take center stage in April. The deadline to enter the March series will be Feb. 15. For additional information, visit https://www.themsoa.com/2024-spring-series-coming-soon/

THANK YOU FROM MEADOWS MANAGEMENT
The racing team at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows thanks everyone that helped to make this past weekend’s late schedule change a success. Owners, trainers, drivers, employees and bettors were forced to shift gears when a winter storm resulted in the Friday (Jan. 19) card being pushed back 24 hours — something that has not been tried at The Meadows in many years. Despite the late change, there were very few program changes and handle was strong, falling just shy of $700,000 for the afternoon.

TOP DRIVERS BATTLE EARLY
As they did in early 2023, drivers Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and Dave Palone are both off to hot starts in the cold weather. Wrenn has recorded 21 wins in 81 drives, while Palone has 20 victories in 83 starts. Aaron Merriman (14), Hunter Myers (11) and Brady Brown (10) round out the top five. Mickey Burke Jr. (14) and Brandon Presto (11) lead the training standings. Post position five, the perennial leader in the wins category, has seen a higher than usual figure, 21 percent, from just behind the center of the gate car so far in 2023.

REMINDER: UPDATES NEEDED FOR RACE OFFICE
If you have not yet turned in updated 2024 Coggins, Health Certificates and EHV/rabies vaccinations to The Meadows’ Race Office, you have just over a week to get the paperwork filed.