Six cards remain in 2024 season at The Meadows

Hollywood Casino at The Meadows’ 2024 racing season has just six cards remaining, with three taking place this week. Racing is set for Wednesday through Friday at 12:45 p.m. this week. Next week will feature an abbreviated holiday schedule, including the track’s first Monday of racing in more than five years. Action will take place Monday (Dec. 23) and Friday (Dec. 27), with the final card of the season also coming on a Monday (Dec. 30).

The top-three driver list at The Meadows for the season looks similar to last year’s list. The top three in wins from 2023, Dave Palone, Ronnie Wrenn Jr. and Aaron Merriman, all appear to have those spots locked up for 2024. However, Wrenn trailed Palone by 149 wins last year (412-263), and is only 32 behind this time (367-335). Merriman is currently 26 wins ahead of his 2023 numbers, with 248 wins compared to 222 for all of 2023.

21-year-old Justin Walters has gained popularity this season as an up-and-coming catch driver at The Meadows. After starting his career driving mainly for his father, trainer Steve Walters, Justin eventually earned some catch drives and finished 2023 with 22 wins and earnings of $268,682. With two weeks remaining in 2024, he has doubled his local win total to 44 with earnings over $527,000, and currently ranks 11th among local drivers in victories. Last week, he picked up three wins in 17 drives.