Grismore or Aaron Merriman

[trackrat]

Setting aside the fact that Tyler Smith owns Northfield right now, who would you prefer to drive your horse in a race at Northfield: Greg Grismore or Aaron Merriman? After Walter Case left, Grismore dominated Northfield and Aaron wasn't even close to the driver he is now. Difficult question to answer because Grismore is buried at The Meadows behind a stellar driving colony.

[jimhorseman]

Nice to see an interesting question posted on the board. At this point I would pick Grismore over Merriman. While it is true Grismore isn't getting top drives and his stats are suffering as a result at the Meadows I think his driving skills are still top notch. In fact, I think his style is more suited to a half mile track such as Northfield as he can drive equally well from the front or off the pace and he has a good knack for making quick decisions required on the smaller oval. I have been leary of Aaron since he has returned from his injury. Seems to me his shoulder is still not at full strength. When I watch him drive I see that he gets most of his wins now by just gunning to the front. Rating a horse and making a mid pack or come from way back move to win are infrequent. I will admit I watch only a handful of his races every week so others on the board may want to take issue with my opinion.

On another front I have heard a rumor from a pretty good source that if Northfield adds slot revenues to their purse structure that many drivers who left are considering a return including David Miller now based primarily at the Meadowlands.

[trackrat]

I would pick Grismore too. When he raced here full time after Case left, Grismore controlled what everyone else in the race was going to do by what he did. I agree with you about Aaron. When he had the accident at Northfield where he broke both wrists, he was very tentative for a long time after returning to the track. He might still be a little gun shy.