There has been very little movement in Week 9 of the 2018 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll.
On July 14 at the Meadowlands Racetrack, Hannelore Hanover stretched her seasonal unbeaten streak to six, courtesy of her track record 1:50.2 mile in the Miss Versatility prelims. The reigning Horse of the Year on both sides of the border cut all the fractions (:27.1, :55.4, 1:23.4) from Post 4 and closed things out in :26.3 to notch a half-length score. The Ron Burke-trained and Yannick Gingras-driven supermare has now earned more than $267,000 in purses this season. She also surpassed the $2.9-million mark in career bank via her track record score. She has yet to race since the sparkling performance.
The Rick Zeron-trained and Scott Zeron-driven trotting filly Atlanta has moved up from sixth to fourth on the poll. Rick announced this past weekend that the Chapter Seven lass will face the boys in the Hambletonian at the Meadowlands Racetrack.
The results from Week 9 of the poll appear below.
(Rank – Horse [first-place votes] – Total Points – Previous)
1 – Hannelore Hanover (34) – 349 – 1
2 – McWicked (1) – 244 – 2
3 – Ariana G – 235 – 3
4 – Atlanta – 195 – 6
5 – Courtly Choice – 177 – 4
6 – Kissin In The Sand – 142 – 5
7 – Shartin N – 130 – 7
8 – Lather Up – 125 – 8
9 – Six Pack – 113 – 9
10 – Wolfgang – 96 – 10
Also: Manchego (49); Plunge Blue Chip (46); Jimmy Freight, Marion Marauder (4); Evenin Of Pleasure, Filibuster Hanover, Phaetosive (3); Crystal Fashion, Kendall Seelster (2); Dorsoduro Hanover, Fox Valley Gemini, Springbridge Sassy (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.