Nijinsky Holds Top Spot In Standardbred Poll
There was little movement in the Week 2 edition of the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll released on Tuesday, June 25. Nijinsky maintained the top spot with the only shift in positions occurring with Captains Quarters moving from No. 9 to No. 8 in a swap of spots with Hellabalou.
Hellabalou was the only horse in the Top 10 to compete since last week’s debut rankings. He finished third in an Invitational Pace at MGM Yonkers Raceway.
Nijinsky, Twin B Joe Fresh and Karl remained in the top three positions in the poll. Its A Love Thing and Highland Kismet completed the top five.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, which will be released every Tuesday through the remainder of the Grand Circuit season, 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.
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/S/G | Record | Earnings (USD) | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Nijinsky (21) | 3cp | 5-5-0-0 | $455,155 | 330 | 1 |
| 2 | Twin B Joe Fresh (3) | 4mp | 4-3-1-0 | $177,725 | 281 | 2 |
| 3 | Karl (10) | 3ct | 3-3-0-0 | $150,000 | 277 | 3 |
| 4 | Its A Love Thing | 3fp | 5-3-2-0 | $268,824 | 176 | 4 |
| 5 | Highland Kismet | 3gt | 5-4-1-0 | $109,135 | 157 | 5 |
| 6 | Jiggy Jog S | 5mt | 1-1-0-0 | $70,398 | 120 | 6 |
| 7 | Call Me Goo | 4mt | 5-4-1-0 | $140,479 | 102 | 7 |
| 8 | Captains Quarters | 3cp | 4-2-2-0 | $205,313 | 73 | 9 |
| 9 | Hellabalou | 6hp | 12-2-3-3 | $359,880 | 72 | 8 |
| 10 | Ruthless Hanover | 7gp | 2-2-0-0 | $56,500 | 49 | 10 |
ALSO: TCI 48; M Ms Dream 34; Winner’s Bet 28; Little Rocket Man 23; Linedrive Hanover 22; Funtime Bayama 19; Lit De Rose 13; Hasty Bid 10; R Liza, Rose Run Zoey 9; My Girl EJ, Odds On Platinum 8; Carbine 7; Mambacita 5; Captain Albano, Desperate Man, Sabonis, Security Protected, Spaaaanzano, Sylvia Hanover 4; Jurassic Hattie, Storm Shadow, Tactical Mounds, Taurasi 3; Coaches Corner, Coach Stefanos, Oakwood Ardan IR 2; Admiral Hill, Mr Mouton, Yo Tillie 1. Winners Bet received one first-place vote.
(USTA)
Ruthless Hanover
Ruthless has only raced twice this year but he has paced both the fastest and second-fastest miles of 2024, and both races were on 5/8 mile tracks!!