The first installment of the 2018 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll has been unveiled, and a familiar name sits atop the list.

Hannelore Hanover, the 2017 Horse of the Year on both sides of the border, has garnered 16 first-place votes and leads this week’s poll with 291 points.

Hannelore Hanover, pictured victorious at Mohawk with Yannick Gingras (New Image Media)

The Ron Burke-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven Hannelore Hanover is two-for-two thus far in 2018. She last raced in a Great Northeast dash on Sunday (May 27) at Harrah’s Philadelphia. ‘Hannelore’ was sharp off a 22-day layoff, as she started from Post 4, cut all the fractions (:28, :57, 1:25) and kicked home in :27.2 for a three-length victory in 1:52.2.

The results from Week 1 of the poll appear below.

(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous)
1 – Hannelore Hanover (16) – 291 – N/A
2 – Shartin N (8) – 285 – N/A
3 – Filibuster Hanover (5) – 259 – N/A
4 – Will Take Charge (2) – 160 – N/A
5 – Keystone Velocity (1) – 137 – N/A
6 – Atlanta (2) – 127 – N/A
7 – Rockin Ron – 103 – N/A
8 – Manchego (1) – 84 – N/A
9 – Ariana G – 77 – N/A
10 – Trump Nation – 69 – N/A

Also: Bit Of A Legend N (54); Marion Marauder (37); Six Pack (27); Lather Up (25); NF Happenstance (20); Sell A Bit N (17); Dorsoduro Hanover (16); Wes Delight (14); Easy Lover Hanover, Somewhere In L A (11); Mach It So (10); Percy Bluechip (8); Done Well, Lost In Time, Kimberlee, Western Joe (7); Barn Girl, Courtly Choice, Crazy Wow, Jet Airway (6); Blue Moon Stride, Emoticon Hanover (4); Alexas Power, Always A Prince (3); Agent Q, Dr J Hanover, Elmo Blatch, Pass Line Bluechip (2); Broadway Donna, Evenin Of Pleasure, Fox Valley Gemini, Godiva Seelster, Rockinbeach, Rodeo Romeo, Theresademoninme, Velocity Stifler, Walks Of Life (1).

The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll is voted on by harness racing media representatives that cover North American Standardbred racing.

The rankings are based on the votes of harness racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.

The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine Horse of the Year. The U.S. Harness Writers Association votes in December on all Dan Patch Award division winners plus Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year. The Dan Patch Awards are separate from the O'Brien Awards, which recognize Canada's top Standardbreds of a given racing season.