The Week 20 results from the 2017 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll are in, and there is a new leader atop the list.
Fear The Dragon, who has dominated this year’s poll overall, was recently ousted from the top spot by Ariana G, who has been the queen of the three-year-old trotting filly ranks this season.
Fear The Dragon and Ariana G both raced this past weekend during Grand Circuit stakes action at the Red Mile. Fear The Dragon came from off the pace over a ‘sloppy’ track to post a 1:51.2 win in his Tattersalls division. Ariana G won her opening heat of the Kentucky Filly Futurity over the sloppy track in 1:54.4. She was then narrowly defeated in the final of the Futurity Futurity by Ice Attraction in 1:54.2.
For a complete recap of all three of the races, click here.
The results from Week 20 of the poll appear below.
(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous)
1 – Fear The Dragon (16) – 314 – 2
2 – Ariana G (12) – 310 – 1
3 – Manchego (3) – 268 – 3
4 – Hannelore Hanover (4) – 256 – 5
5 – Downbytheseaside – 172 – 4
6 – Resolve – 114 – 7
7 – Huntsville – 104 – 6
8 – Emoticon Hanover – 73 – N/A
9 – Blazin Britches – 62 – 8
10 – Filibuster Hanover – 55 – 9
Also: Caviart Ally (24); Alarm Detector (20); What The Hill (19); Agent Q (17); Lost In Time, Nike Franco N (15); Rainbow Room (11); Devious Man, Youaremycandygirl (10); Fourth Dimension (7); Nutcracker Sweet (6); Marion Marauder (5); Blue Moon Stride, Dealt A Winner, Pasithea Face S, Pure Country, Walner (4); Barn Bella (3); Bettors Up, Bit Of A Legend N, Idyllic Beach, International Moni, Keystone Velocity, Sintra (2); Ice Attraction, Snowstorm Hanover, Two AM (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.