Confederate continued his reign atop the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, holding his No. 1 position for the 12th consecutive week.
Coming off his Breeders Crown victory on Oct. 28 at Hoosier Park, glamour boy Confederate heads to Bally's Dover Downs next for the sophomore Matron Stakes this Thursday, Nov. 9.
Karl won last week’s Kindergarten Classic Series final for two-year-old male trotters at The Meadowlands and was rewarded with an improved position in the Week 22 edition of the poll released on Tuesday, Nov. 7. Karl moved up from sixth to fifth in a swap of positions with idle Tattoo Artist.
There was no other movement in the Top 10. The only other horse in action last week was Tactical Approach, who won the Carl Erskine at Harrah’s Hoosier Park. The colt remained No. 3 in the poll.
The final Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll will be released on Nov. 28 following the completion of the Grand Circuit season.
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. 7, 2023
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/S/G | Record | Earnings (USD) | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Confederate (35) | 3cp | 13-12-1-0 | $1,544,929 | 350 | 1 |
| 2 | Sylvia Hanover | 3fp | 13-10-2-0 | $767,959 | 310 | 2 |
| 3 | Tactical Approach | 3ct | 18-10-2-4 | $1,422,239 | 258 | 3 |
| 4 | Bythemissal | 4gp | 14-10-1-1 | $839,041 | 208 | 4 |
| 5 | Karl | 2ct | 9-8-1-0 | $836,822 | 158 | 6 |
| 6 | Tattoo Artist | 6hp | 22-9-5-2 | $902,712 | 156 | 5 |
| 7 | Jiggy Jog S | 4mt | 10-7-3-0 | $950,986 | 142 | 7 |
| 8 | T C I | 2ct | 12-10-2-0 | $1,238,870 | 122 | 8 |
| 9 | Geocentric | 2fp | 10-9-0-0 | $556,251 | 72 | 9 |
| 10 | Bond | 3ft | 12-8-1-1 | $803,321 | 64 | 10 |
ALSO: Its My Show 33; Its Academic 17; Grace Hill 13; My Girl EJ 8; M Ms Dream 4; P L Rainbow Dash, Warrawee Michelle 3; Covered Bridge 2; Alrajah One IT, Shark Week 1.
(With files from USTA)
Shark Week
Someone must read my comments at SC. After last week's poll, I commented that Shark Week didn't receive any votes (he received 1 vote the previous week and 4 votes the week before that) even though he hasn't lost a race since April, a claim that even Confederate can't make. This week he again received a vote!