After 28 weeks of voting, the results from the final installment of the 2018 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll have been tallied.
After a hard-fought, 19-race campaign, McWicked, S S G Stables’ iron-tough son of McArdle, has again been the No. 1 point-getter in the weekly tallies. The Casie Coleman trainee attracted 27 first-place votes and 341 overall points.
Brian Sears and David Miller performed the bulk of the driving duties behind the seven-year-old horse, while Bob McClure also guided the $4 million career earner through some of his miles at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
McWicked truly was something to watch in 2018, as he paced to a record of 12-3-2 from 19 starts, hauled down multiple high-end stakes, and rolled to a scintillating 1:46.2 mark-lowering victory over the Red Mile in Lexington, Kentucky. He finished 2018 with $1.66 million in seasonal earnings.
Within the span of three races from mid-June to early July, McWicked swept the $500,000 Ben Franklin at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and snared the $471,100 Haughton Memorial at the Meadowlands Racetrack. He drew off on his rivals in early September at Woodbine Mohawk Park while capturing the $600,000 Canadian Pacing Derby. He went on a tear roughly a month later, as he won the $179,000 Allerage at the Red Mile in 1:46.2 and followed that up with an open-lengths score in the $250,000 Dan Rooney at Yonkers Raceway. After having dominated in his $430,000 Breeders Crown final at Pocono, he went on to capture the $350,000 TVG Open Pace at the Meadowlands.
Although it is commonplace in today’s racing climate for intact world champions to be hustled to the lucrative breeding shed, McWicked will be back to fight another day in 2019, if all goes according to plan.
McWicked’s trainer, Casie Coleman, stated via social media in late October that there have been many offers to stand the $3.8-million career earner at stud, but that is not the plan at the moment.
“Thanks to all the breeding farms who have contacted us to stand McWicked [at stud],” Coleman wrote, adding that the connections really appreciate all of the offers that have been submitted.
“Owner Ed James (of S S G Stables) loves watching his horse race and has made his decision,” Coleman explained.
Shartin N (321 points) and Atlanta (234) rounded out the top three on the final poll, respectively.
Shartin N has been nothing short of sensational since coming over to North America in January of this year. The five-year-old daughter of TinTin In America won 19 of her 24 seasonal starts and almost $1.1 million in purse earnings. She captured major stakes on both sides of the border for trainer Jim King Jr. and owners Richard Poillucci and Joann Looney King and was the overwhelming force in the aged mares pacing division.
Atlanta was sensational in 2018, as the three-year-old daughter of Chapter Seven flew to a seasonal record of 12-5-2 from 24 starts. The Rick Zeron-trained and Scott Zeron-owned filly bested the boys in the $1 million Hambletonian at the Meadowlands in August and excelled in heat racing yet again in October, as she triumphed in the $224,000 Kentucky Filly Futurity at the Red Mile. Her sophomore campaign came to an end after her Breeders Crown final, where she was just collared by a head in the $500,000 tilt. Atlanta is owned by Rick Zeron, Crawford Farms, Holland Racing Stable, Howard Taylor and Brad Grant.
The results from Week 28 of the poll appear below.
(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous Rank)
1. McWicked (27) - 341 - 1
2. Shartin N (8) - 321 - 2
3. Atlanta - 234 - 3
4. Woodside Charm -222 - 4
5. Kissin In The Sand - 177 - 5
6. Gimpanzee - 146 - 6
7. Tactical Landing - 135 - 7
8. Six Pack - 86 - 8
9. Dorsoduro Hanover - 73 - 9
10. Courtly Choice - 59 - 10
Also: Captain Crunch 32; Homicide Hunter 27; Jimmy Freight 22; Emoticon Hanover 14; Manchego 11; Warrawee Ubeaut 10; Marion Marauder 5; Crystal Fashion 4; Plunge Blue Chip, Prescient Beauty 2; Lather Up, Pure Country 1.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll is voted on by harness racing media representatives that cover North American Standardbred racing.
The rankings are based on the votes of harness racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine Horse of the Year. The U.S. Harness Writers Association votes in December on all Dan Patch Award division winners plus Trotter of the Year, Pacer of the Year and Horse of the Year. The Dan Patch Awards are separate from the O'Brien Awards, which recognize Canada's top Standardbreds of a given racing season.