Top-ranked Bulldog Hanover upped his lead over his nearest rival in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll to 108 points, his largest advantage of the season, in the Week 22 ratings released Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Bulldog Hanover won the Breeders Crown Open Pace in 1:46.4 this past Saturday at Woodbine Mohawk Park, equalling the Canadian record he already shared, and received all 35 first-place votes in the poll. He has been No. 1 for 17 consecutive weeks. COSA TV provides a behind-the-scenes look at the start of the race in the video replay below.
Breeders Crown Mare Trot winner Bella Bellini vaulted from No. 5 to No. 2 in the rankings, followed by Breeders Crown Mare Pace runner-up Test Of Faith. Jiggy Jog S and Joviality S, who finished first and third, respectively, in the Breeders Crown for three-year-old female trotters, completed the top five.
Pebble Beach, who won the Breeders Crown for three-year-old male pacers, was among three newcomers in the final five positions of the Top 10. Pebble Beach was sixth, two-year-old filly trot champ Special Way was ninth and Open Trot winner Ecurie D DK was No. 10.
Sylvia Hanover, who won the Breeders Crown for two-year-old female pacers, moved from 10th to seventh while Bythemissal, who was third in the final for three-year-old male pacers, fell from fourth to eighth.
Dropping from the Top 10 were Fashion Schooner, Beach Glass and Allywag Hanover.
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 22 – Nov. 1, 2022
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/S/G | Record | Earnings (USD) | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Bulldog Hanover (35) | 4hp | 15-13-1-0 | $1,478,231 | 350 | 1 |
| 2 | Bella Bellini | 4mt | 17-8-3-5 | $856,240 | 242 | 5 |
| 3 | Test Of Faith | 4mp | 18-11-6-0 | $800,356 | 223 | 3 |
| 4 | Jiggy Jog S | 3ft | 13-8-3-0 | $919,244 | 221 | 6 |
| 5 | Joviality S | 3ft | 15-11-2-2 | $1,075,640 | 195 | 2 |
| 6 | Pebble Beach | 3cp | 15-8-6-1 | $1,245,450 | 178 | — |
| 7 | Sylvia Hanover | 2fp | 9-8-1-0 | $670,865 | 120 | 10 |
| 8 | Bythemissal | 3gp | 15-12-2-1 | $1,064,688 | 115 | 4 |
| 9 | Special Way | 2ft | 9-7-1-0 | $692,775 | 74 | — |
| 10 | Ecurie D DK | 6ht | 6-2-2-1 | $569,039 | 39 | — |
ALSO: Beach Glass 27; King Of The North, Treacherous Dragon 23; Allywag Hanover 14; Grace Hill 13; Niki Hill 11; Atlanta 10; Confederate, Fashion Schooner 9; Twin B Joe Fresh 7; Gaines Hanover, Oh Well 6; Cool Papa Bell 4; Rebuff 3; Stockade Seelster 2; Ammo 1.
(With files from USTA)
Ecurie D
I think he does Mike. It's the quality of racing. He's the top performer in the open trot. The only others are Svanstedts two other horses, with the biggest one hurt.
Look at it like this, he's averaging just over $95k per start. Only 1 other horse is near that on the list --- at the top
Trevor O
Ecurie D DK???
Does Ecurie D DK REALLY deserve to be ranked 10th? His Breeders Crown win was only his 2nd win of the year and his first win in more than 5 months. Even top-ranked thoroughbreds win more frequently than that.