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

THIS WEEK’S SCHEDULE
We are now in our Spring racing schedule, with action four days per week — Wednesday through Saturday — at 12:45 p.m. The next change in the schedule will be Kentucky Derby Day, as The Meadows traditionally races at 11:30 a.m. on Triple Crown days.

FORMER REGULAR MAKES LOCAL RETURN
Eric Goodell, a regular among The Meadows driving colony for several seasons, will make his first local appearance in quite some time on Wednesday (April 17). Goodell qualified the 3-year-old pacing filly Sarah Said in Hawkinsville, Ga., on March 30 for trainer Garry Martin, and is scheduled to drive her from post seven in the third race on Wednesday at The Meadows. It is the filly’s first start of the season.

POST POSITION STATS
A check of the post position statistics through the first three months of the racing season shows some interesting numbers. Post five, traditionally the top spot yearly at The Meadows, is once again producing the most winners. However, the 19.6% winning clip from post five is higher than in other recent years. Post eight and post nine are both equal in winning percentage so far this year, at 6.7%. The biggest surprise is the lack of success that horses are having from post six. Despite being just one spot away from the “best” starting spot, horses leaving from post six are winning at just a 7.3% rate in 2024. Horses with post seven are having much more success, winning just over 10% of the time.

TOP 10 MOVES
Two trainers moved into the top-10 in wins this past week. Lester Mullet and Rich Perfido now have 12 wins each, moving them into a tie for ninth with trainer Jason Shaw. Mullet’s horses have won 16% of their races (12-for-75), while Perfido has started 100 horses with total earnings of more than $116,000.