Three newcomers vaulted into this week’s Top 10 in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, led by three-year-old male pacer Perfect Sting, who landed at No. 6 after defeating older rivals in 1:48.1 at The Meadowlands. The time equaled the fastest mile of the season by a sophomore pacer.
Racine Bell and Ruthless Hanover also entered the Top 10. Racine Bell, ranked No. 8, won the Kissin In The Sand Series final while Ruthless Hanover, at No. 9, won the fourth leg of the Graduate Series for pacers. Racine Bell’s time of 1:48.1 equaled the world record for a four-year-old female pacer on a mile track.
The only other Top 10-ranked winner last week was Its Academic, who captured a division of the Graduate Series for trotters and moved from fifth to fourth in the rankings. Captain Barbossa, who slipped from ninth to 10th, finished third in the Graduate for pacers.
All other horses in the Top 10, including No. 1 Manchego, were idle.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine 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 5 – 6/22/2021
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/S/G | Record | Earnings | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Manchego (27) | 6mt | 3-3-0-0 | $132,095 | 341 | 1 |
| 2 | This Is The Plan (5) | 6gp | 9-3-6-0 | $449,500 | 303 | 2 |
| 3 | Abuckabett Hanover | 3cp | 3-3-0-0 | $72,686 | 224 | 3 |
| 4 | Its Academic | 4ht | 11-6-1-2 | $198,680 | 206 | 5 |
| 5 | Nicholas Beach (2) | 5gp | 7-5-2-0 | $107,950 | 161 | 4 |
| 6 | Perfect Sting (1) | 3cp | 2-1-1-0 | $21,511 | 127 | — |
| 7 | Southwind Gendry | 3gp | 3-2-1-0 | $89,689 | 102 | 6 |
| 8 | Racine Bell | 4mp | 12-8-1-2 | $130,050 | 52 | — |
| 9 | Ruthless Hanover | 4gp | 4-3-1-0 | $100,000 | 50 | — |
| 10 | Captain Barbossa | 4gp | 6-3-1-1 | $77,250 | 47 | 9 |
ALSO: Alexa Skye 46; Test Of Faith 39; Machnhope 34; Hot Mess Express 29; When Dovescry 24; Heart Of Chewbacca 19; Hypnotic AM, Winning Ticket 13; Beads 12; Lindy The Great 11; Captain Corey 8; Ahundreddollarbill, Always A Miki, Southwind Amazon 7; Charlie May, One Eight Hundred, South Beach Star 6; Allywag Hanover, Really Fast, Rockapelo 4; Rattle My Cage 3; Backstreet Shadow, Beltassima, I Did It Myway, Shake That House 2; Iteration, Whiskey Blu 1.
(USTA)