The fifth installment of the 2018 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll has been released, and it is just getting tougher to sit atop the pile.
The Ron Burke-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven Hannelore Hanover – who has been atop the poll all year – remains in the top spot after Week 5 polling. She attracted 25 first-place votes and garnered 334 overall points. The six-year-old daughter of Swan For All is undefeated this year after four starts.
Speaking of undefeated horses, the Clyde Francis-trained and Montrell Teague-driven Lather Up has continued to attract points in the poll. The three-year-old son of Im Gorgeous extended his seasonal unbeaten streak last weekend during his Hempt elim at Pocono, where he overcame a Post 7 start and notched an open-length win in 1:49. Lather Up received nine first-place votes in Week 5 polling and garnered 314 points overall.
The results from Week 5 of the poll appear below.
(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous)
1 – Hannelore Hanover (25) – 334 – 1
2 – Lather Up (9) – 314 – 2
3 – Shartin N – 232 – 3
4 – Manchego – 220 – 6
5 – Atlanta (1) – 213 – 5
6 – Filibuster Hanover – 166 – 4
7 – Wolfgang – 103 – 7
8 – Bit Of A Legend N – 64 – 8
9 – Will Take Charge – 50 – 9
10 – Keystone Velocity – 34 – 10
Also: McWicked (33); Homicide Hunter (25); Shower Play, Six Pack (24); Jimmy Freight (22); Rockin Ron (11); Ariana G (10); Done Well, Sintra (9); Elmo Blatch (6); Mission Accepted (5); All Bets Off, Trump Nation (3); Marion Marauder, Kissin In The Sand (2); Courtly Choice, Dorsoduro Hanover, Emoticon Hanover, Fox Valley Gemini, Mach It So, Stay Hungry, Wes Delight (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.