Merriman, Rhoades takes Northfield titles

Northfield, OH- Aaron Merriman wrapped up another superb harness racing season at MGM Northfield Park with 590 winners circle trips from 2,434 starts to collect his seventh straight driving title and 12th overall at MGM Northfield Park. Ronnie Wrenn Jr (341), Billy Davis Jr (276), Chris Lems (258) and Hunter Myers (222) rounded out the top five this season.

Aaron wasn’t content to just top the local standings, he piled on 279 victories elsewhere to bring his grand total to 869 for the 2023 racing season which catapulted him to his ninth consecutive season as leading driver in the United States. Merriman not only spends a lot of time winning, but his bike also gets plenty of use as he started 4,237 times throughout the year.

His total purse earnings in 2023 turned out to be his second highest with over $9.4 million, trailing only his incredible 2018 tally of $10,529,801. Aaron enjoyed success on Ohio Super Night securing two of the eight $300,000 finals with Clever Cody (Ian Moore) and Tarapasta (Todd Luther).

“It all feels like one big day. They all run together, and it can be a little tiresome to spend the time going back and forth but right now there aren’t any current plans to stop going back and forth,” Merriman said when asked about pulling double duty throughout the week at the Meadows and Northfield.

An appreciative Merriman of his success also stated that “ I don’t drive because of chasing records until they hit me in the face when I get close to them. I just go out there trying to do the best I can and win as many as I can for myself. You will have your off days, but you just shake them off.” The 45-year-old Northfield native began his career in 1997 and sits third all-time in wins with over 15,300 and nearly $113,000,000 in career earnings.

On the training side, Bill Rhoades enjoyed his best season in terms of wins at Northfield Park with 202 from 970 starts and purses ($1,700,122) in route to his second career training title at the “Flying Turns”. North American standout Ron Burke (164), 2022 leading trainer Cory Kreiser (160), 21’ leader Sam Schillaci (127) and Renae Loney (123) turned in solid seasons to solidify the top five.

Rhoades now makes it four straight seasons of over $1,000,000 in total earnings and has finished with a higher earnings total year over year since 2017. His grand total of 220 wins across all tracks ranked him seventh in the nation in 2023.

It’s no surprise that the connection Rhoades and perennial leading driver Aaron Merriman share helped cement their respective winning seasons as they teamed up for a whopping 181 victories at Northfield Park. When asked about what makes their connection so well Rhoades stated “Communication! we talk a lot especially when one races bad, or we race a new one. He’s a sicko when it comes to his desire to win, and he offers a lot of input each time. I’m lucky to have him drive for me.”

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

by Kenny Livengood, for MGM Northfield Park