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

“RICHEST DAY IN PA”
Hollywood Casino at The Meadows is finalizing plans for the “richest day in PA” when it comes to guaranteed pools. Saturday (July 27) will feature the Delvin Miller Adios Pace for the Orchids, and the track is looking to present the largest total of guaranteed pools for bettors ever offered in Pennsylvania. Full details will be coming later this week.

5-YEAR-OLD TROTTER MAKING NOISE
When Mike Wilder reached his 9,000th driving win this past week, lost in the headline was the fact that the horse he drove to the milestone win has put together some impressive numbers in a short amount of time. Distant Drums, trained by Sarah Andrews, is a 5-year-old gelding by Trixton out of the Cantab Hall mare Altar Gal. In 2022, Distant Drums went 1-for-8, racing mostly in Canada. After vanishing from the racetrack for more than two years, he reappeared at The Meadows for a May 2024 qualifier, in which he finished second. On June 6, he beat a group of non-winners of 1 trotters by nearly three lengths in 1:55.4. The following time out he stepped up in class and won in 1:54.2 by six lengths, followed by a June 26 win in NW3 company in 1:55.3, by nearly five lengths. Aaron Merriman drove Distant Drums in all three of those wins. The victory with Wilder was by 8-1/4 lengths in 1:54.3, giving the Matthew Miller-owned gelding a perfect four-for-four record after more than a year and a half on the shelf. Distant Drums drew also-eligible for this Wednesday, so his quest for five straight is temporarily on hold.

SISTERS SQUARE OFF
The feature race on Wednesday’s card will be the $21,200 Filly & Mare Open Handicap Pace. For the second time, Think Of Galaxies and Kele Kele will face each other in the top level. On June 26, Kele Kele, a 5-year-old, was cutting the mile when 6-year-old Think Of Galaxies pulled first over and the two were side-by-side for much of the third quarter. Both mares are sired by So Surreal out of the mare Lightning D Dube, owned by Peter Kleinhans. Think Of Galaxies is in the Cory Kreiser Stable and has post one this Wednesday (8-1 morning line), while Kele Kele is trained by Bill Bercury and will leave from post five at a morning line of 4-1. Ohio-invader Alexa Skye, trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., is the 8-5 early choice from post four.