A total of 45 horses received at least one point in the first Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Poll of 2020, and five received at least one first-place vote. When the tabulating was completed, four-year-old male trotter Gimpanzee occupied the No. 1 spot.
Gimpanzee, a Dan Patch Award winner at age two, won the Graduate Series final for four-year-old trotters this past Saturday at the Meadowlands Racetrack and is three-for-three this year. He received 18 first-place votes and 310 points.
Following Gimpanzee were Cutler Memorial winner Atlanta, Meadowlands Pace morning line favourite Tall Dark Stranger, Miss Versatility leg winner Manchego, and Graduate Series pacing champ Hurrikane Emperor.
Shartin N, the 2019 Horse of the Year in the United States, was seventh in the rankings. Shartin N, Manchego, Gimpanzee, and Tall Dark Stranger all finished last year in the top 10.
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 1 – 7/14/2020
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/G/S | Record | Earnings | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Gimpanzee (18) | 4th | 3-3-0-0 | $168,750 | 310 | — |
| 2 | Atlanta (8) | 5tm | 3-2-1-0 | $115,450 | 292 | — |
| 3 | Tall Dark Stranger (6) | 3pc | 2-2-0-0 | $34,375 | 238 | — |
| 4 | Manchego | 5tm | 3-2-1-0 | $73,975 | 209 | — |
| 5 | Hurrikane Emperor (1) | 4ph | 4-3-0-1 | $158,750 | 199 | — |
| 6 | Hypnotic AM | 3tf | 2-2-0-0 | $131,125 | 118 | — |
| 7 | Shartin N (2) | 7pm | 2-2-0-0 | $41,500 | 77 | — |
| 8 | Backstreet Shadow | 5pg | 8-5-0-0 | $158,270 | 72 | — |
| 9 | Sorella | 3tf | 3-3-0-0 | $49,000 | 69 | — |
| 10 | Allywag Hanover | 3pc | 3-3-0-0 | $32,216 | 67 | — |
ALSO: Love A Good Story 23; Kissin In The Sand 19; Odds On Sarasota, Workin Ona Mystery 18; Papi Rob Hanover 17; Action Uncle 16; Tattoo Artist 15; American Courage 14; Dancin Lou 13; Bet On Becky 11; Bllack Hole 10; Charlie May, Majestic Player A, Play Trix On Me 7; Bettors Wish, Grand Swan, Party Girl Hill, Winella Hanover 6; Caviart Ally, Guinevere Hall, Sintra, Southwind Amazon 5; Amigo Volo, Evenwood Sonofagun, Splash Brother, Swansea, Third Shift 4; Rockin The Aces, Soho Burning Love 3; Its Academic, Tookadiveoffdipper, Windsong Leo 2; Back Of The Neck, Chin Chin Hall, Hey Livvy 1.
(USTA)
8 of the horses in the top 10
8 of the horses in the top 10 will be racing on Saturday night at The Meadowlands. The only horses missing will be #2 Atlanta, who surprisingly wasn't entered in this leg of the Miss Versatility, and #5 Hurrikane Emperor, who wasn't staked to The Haughton.