The Week 22 results from the 2017 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll are in, and Arianna G is back atop the leaderboard.
Ariana G, the dominant force in the three-year-old trotting filly ranks, has been off since October 8, the day in which she finished in second, by a neck, in the $168,000 second heat of the Kentucky Filly Futurity. The Jimmy Takter-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven bay will contest the $500,000 Breeders Crown Three-Year-Old Filly Trot this Friday night (October 27) at Hoosier Park. She has been installed as the 3-5 morning line choice and will start from Post 8 in the 11-horse field.
Manchego, the two-year-old Muscle Hill filly that has yet to taste defeat after 11 career starts, has moved up to the No. 2 spot in the poll. The Jimmy Takter-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven bay emerged victorious in her Breeders Crown elimination last weekend at Hoosier, and she has been installed as the 6-5 morning line choice for this coming Friday’s $600,000 Breeders Crown Two-Year-old Filly Trot at the Indiana oval. She will start the festivities from Post 4 in the field of 12.
Fear The Dragon has slipped to No. 3 on the poll. The three-year-old Dragon Again colt raced last weekend in his Breeders Crown elim and finished a disappointing eighth. The Brian Brown-trained and David Miller-driven bay has drawn Post 7 in the $60,000 Pegasus this coming Saturday (October 28) at Hoosier.
The results from Week 22 of the poll appear below.
(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous)
1 – Ariana G (14) – 310 – 2
2 – Manchego (8) – 293 – 3
3 – Fear The Dragon (9) – 270 – 1
4 – Hannelore Hanover (3) – 265 – 4
5 – Downbytheseaside – 191 – 5
6 – Emoticon Hanover – 77 – 7
7 – Lost In Time – 60 – N/A
8 – Resolve – 59 – 6
9 – Huntsville – 58 – 8
10 – Blazin Britches – 53 – 9
Also: Twister Bi (42); What The Hill (30); Crazy Wow (25); Nike Franco N (21); Marion Marauder (20); Filibuster Hanover (19); International Moni (18); Youaremycandygirl (17); Rainbow Room (15); Caviart Ally (14); Agent Q (11); Alarm Detector, Mach It So (9); Devious Man (8); Fourth Dimension (7); Dealt A Winner (5); All Bets Off, Keystone Velocity, Pure Country (4); Barn Bella (3); Two AM (2); Blue Moon Stride, McWicked (1).
Twister Bi received 1 first-place vote.
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.