Tall Dark Stranger Tops 2020's Final Poll
Three-year-old male pacer Tall Dark Stranger finished the Grand Circuit season the No. 1-ranked horse in the final Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, garnering 25 of 35 first-place votes. Tall Dark Stranger, who was retired following his Breeders Crown runner-up finish Oct. 31, won 11 of 13 races and more than $1.4 million. His earnings led all harness racing horses in North America, and he was the only Standardbred to win more than $1 million in 2020.
Tall Dark Stranger was ranked no worse than third at any point during the poll’s 21 weeks. He took over the top spot in Week 13 of the rankings and stayed there for the remaining nine weeks.
There were no changes to the rankings in the poll’s top 10 this week. Party Girl Hill, Gimpanzee, Kissin In The Sand, and Perfect Sting completed the top five. Party Girl Hill received eight first-place votes while Gimpanzee and Perfect Sting split the remaining two.
Rounding out the rankings were Bettors Wish, Amigo Volo, Manchego, Atlanta, and Ramona Hill.
Gimpanzee led the rankings for the first six weeks before giving up No. 1 to Ramona Hill, who spent the next six weeks at the top of the poll.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine Horse of the Year. The members of the U.S. Harness Writers Association vote on all Dan Patch Award division winners plus Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year.
Rankings based on the votes of harness racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll: FINAL – 12/1/2020
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/G/S | Record | Earnings | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Tall Dark Stranger (25) | 3pc | 13-11-1-0 | $1,428,681 | 334 | 1 |
| 2 | Party Girl Hill (8) | 3pf | 16-15-0-0 | $932,545 | 301 | 2 |
| 3 | Gimpanzee (1) | 4th | 11-8-1-1 | $997,092 | 245 | 3 |
| 4 | Kissin In The Sand | 5pm | 12-8-1-0 | $523,059 | 221 | 4 |
| 5 | Perfect Sting (1) | 2pc | 10-10-0-0 | $534,300 | 214 | 5 |
| 6 | Bettors Wish | 4ph | 13-6-3-2 | $685,432 | 142 | 6 |
| 7 | Amigo Volo | 3tg | 15-9-1-2 | $939,498 | 123 | 7 |
| 8 | Manchego | 5tm | 13-6-2-2 | $606,171 | 119 | 8 |
| 9 | Atlanta | 5tm | 12-5-4-1 | $816,742 | 82 | 9 |
| 10 | Ramona Hill | 3tf | 10-6-1-1 | $968,282 | 79 | 10 |
ALSO: Anoka Hanover, 19; Shartin N, 18; Test Of Faith, 13; Action Uncle, Caviart Ally, Leonidas A, Sorella, Venerate, 2; Charlie May, Major Custard, Peaky Sneaky, Plunge Blue Chip, Yall Beneath Me, 1.
(with files from the USTA)
Alberta's own Major Custard
Alberta's own Major Custard received a vote! In fact, other than TDS, Major Custard was the ONLY 3yopc to receive a single vote! Does that mean that Major Custard was the second-best 3yopc of 2020?