Confederate Still No. 1
The top three positions in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll were unchanged in the Week 17 edition released on Tuesday, Oct. 3 while Tattoo Artist moved up to No. 5 and two horses returned to the Top 10 following stakes victories.
Confederate enjoyed his seventh consecutive week at No. 1 following his win in a division of the Bluegrass Stakes last week. He was followed by Its My Show, who was idle, and Sylvia Hanover, who also was a Bluegrass winner.
Its Academic, who was third in the Dayton Trotting Derby, dropped from fourth to sixth, with idle T C I moving up a spot from fifth to fourth. Tattoo Artist, the Dayton Pacing Derby champ, jumped two positions, from seventh to fifth.
Geocentric, who was idle, improved one position to be seventh this week and was followed by Dayton Distaff winner Grace Hill, who was back in the Top 10 after falling from the group five weeks ago. Bythemissal, third in the Dayton Derby, dropped from sixth to ninth and Tactical Approach, another Bluegrass winner, grabbed the final spot after a two-week absence in the upper echelon.
Idle Seven Colors and Dayton Oaks runner-up M Ms Dream dropped from the Top 10.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine U.S. 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: Week 17 – Oct. 3, 2023
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/S/G | Record | Earnings (USD) | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Confederate (33) | 3cp | 10-9-1-0 | $1,114,429 | 346 | 1 |
| 2 | Its My Show (1) | 3gp | 13-9-3-0 | $1,061,084 | 280 | 2 |
| 3 | Sylvia Hanover (1) | 3fp | 10-8-1-0 | $404,209 | 275 | 3 |
| 4 | T C I | 2ct | 10-9-1-0 | $1,047,470 | 191 | 5 |
| 5 | Tattoo Artist | 6hp | 19-7-5-1 | $812,272 | 175 | 7 |
| 6 | Its Academic | 6ht | 14-8-2-3 | $772,751 | 139 | 4 |
| 7 | Geocentric | 2fp | 7-7-0-0 | $494,501 | 78 | 8 |
| 8 | Grace Hill | 5mp | 12-9-2-1 | $532,776 | 68 | — |
| 9 | Bythemissal | 4gp | 11-7-1-1 | $457,291 | 67 | 6 |
| 10 | Tactical Approach | 3ct | 14-7-1-4 | $752,489 | 53 | — |
ALSO: Jiggy Jog S 50; Seven Colors 46; M Ms Dream 33; Karl 27; Alrajah One IT 21; Bond 16; Twin B Joe Fresh 7; Cannibal, Newsroom 6; Allywag Hanover, Captains Quarters, Legendary Hanover, Special Way 5; Ken Hanover, Pass Line 4; Covered Bridge, Funtime Bayama, Its A Love Thing 3; Silver Label 2; Righteous Resolve, Sig Sauer 1.
(USTA)
A first place vote for Sylvia Hanover????
To whoever cast the 1st place vote for Sylvia Hanover, please explain your criteria for doing so. Sylvia has 8 wins in 10 starts; Confederate has 9. Sylvia has earned $404,000 this year; Confederate has earned $1.1 million. In Confederate's "worst" race of the year, he lost The NAC by a head. Meanwhile, Sylvia broke and finished dead last in The Lynch Memorial. Confederate has paced the all-age fastest mile of the year, 1:46.1. Colts are obviously faster than fillies, but Sylvia's 1:48.1 mark (on a mile track) isn't even the fastest mile by a filly in 2023. Strong Poison won in 1:48 flat and on a seven-eighths mile track.
Please enlighten us on why you think that Sylvia has done better than Confederate has in 2023. I'm sure that a lot of others are wondering about this, too.