Northfield, OH — Aaron Merriman and Sam Schillaci took top honors among the driving and training colonies, respectively, in the 2021 harness racing season at MGM Northfield Park.

Aaron Merriman again topped the local driving ranks, winning 548 races over the Flying Turns in 2021. His nearest competitor, Ronnie Wrenn Jr., drove 399 winners. Kurt Sugg (326), Chris Lems (250) and Hunter Myers (245) completed the top five reinsmen.

Merriman, 43, resides in Northfield, Ohio, and now has 10 driving titles under his belt. He won the dash titles at Northfield Park from 2006-2009, again in 2012, and from 2017-2021. Merriman has won more races at MGM Northfield Park than any driver in the track’s 65-year history, and is also the youngest person ever inducted into the Northfield Park Wall of Fame.

Merriman’s 2021 total victory tally was 860, which ranked him as the winningest driver in North America for the seventh consecutive year. Tim Tetrick was the runner-up with 658 wins. Ronnie Wrenn Jr. (611), Trace Tetrick (559) and George Napolitano Jr. (508) completed the top five North American drivers.

Merriman began driving in 1997 and has since won over 13,500 races and purses approaching $95 million. Merriman’s fastest win ever was aboard Kanaris at Scioto Downs in 1:48.3 in 2014. The richest purse he has ever won is $300,000, which he has done multiple times in sire stakes finals in Ohio and Kentucky.

MGM Northfield Park’s 2021 leading trainer, Sam Schillaci, garnered 170 victories throughout last year. Bill Rhoades finished second with 148 wins. Brian Loney (132), Edward Miller (104) and Ron Burke (93) rounded out the top five Northfield Park trainers for 2021.

Sam, originally from Warsaw, New York, now lives in Macedonia, Ohio, with his wife, Jodi, and their three dogs.

Schillaci, 59, scored his first training win in 1991 at Buffalo Raceway. Sam has nearly 1,400 career training victories and purse earnings approaching $12 million. The 2021 Northfield title is the second local dash victory for Schillaci, who also took Northfield training honors in 2018.

Merriman and Schillaci will be honored with an official presentation in the Winner’s Circle later this month.