Confederate, who on Monday became the fastest three-year-old pacer in history with his 1:46.1 Kentucky Sire Stakes Championship Series win at Lexington’s Red Mile, became the first unanimous No. 1 in this season’s Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll when the Week 13 rankings were released on Tuesday, Sept. 5. In addition, four newcomers entered the Top 10, the highest turnover since four changes in Week 3 last year.
Interestingly, the top five horses in the rankings remained unchanged, with Confederate in the top spot for the third consecutive week, followed by Sylvia Hanover, Its My Show, Its Academic and Bythemissal.
Sylvia Hanover was idle. Its My Show finished second to Seven Colors in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final for three-year-old male pacers, Its Academic finished second to Alrajah One IT in the Maple Leaf Trot and Bythemissal was second to Tattoo Artist in the Canadian Pacing Derby.
The upheaval occurred in the bottom five, with Alrajah One IT (No. 6), Seven Colors (No. 7), Special Way (No. 8) and Geocentric (No. 10) entering the upper echelon. Special Way won a leg of the Kentucky Championship Series for three-year-old female trotters and Geocentric captured the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes final for two-year-old female pacers. Ninth-ranked Tactical Approach was idle.
Dropping out of the Top 10 were Silver Label, Jiggy Jog S, M Ms Dream and Cannibal.
The Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll does not determine U.S. 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 13 – Sept. 5, 2023
| Rank | Name (First Votes) | A/S/G | Record | Earnings (USD) | Points | Pvs |
| 1 | Confederate (35) | 3cp | 8-7-1-0 | $877,929 | 350 | 1 |
| 2 | Sylvia Hanover | 3fp | 7-6-0-0 | $326,830 | 296 | 2 |
| 3 | It’s My Show | 3gp | 11-8-2-0 | $623,584 | 187 | 3 |
| 4 | It’s Academic | 6ht | 11-7-2-2 | $558,951 | 170 | 4 |
| 5 | Bythemissal | 4gp | 8-6-1-0 | $294,741 | 104 | 5 |
| 6 | Alrajah One IT | 7ht | 1-1-0-0 | $196,100 | 100 | — |
| 7 | Seven Colors | 3cp | 14-7-1-3 | $477,220 | 88 | — |
| 8 | Special Way | 3ft | 4-4-0-0 | $190,000 | 85 | — |
| 9 | Tactical Approach | 3ct | 11-5-1-4 | $641,489 | 69 | 7 |
| 10 | Geocentric | 2fp | 6-6-0-0 | $294,501 | 67 | — |
ALSO: Jiggy Jog S 55; Silver Label 53; T C I 49; Cannibal 45; M Ms Dream 41; Tattoo Artist 33; Grace Hill 24; Drawn Impression 19; Legendary Hanover 17; Charlie May 11; Covered Bridge 9; Stockade Seelster, Twin B Joe Fresh 8; Pass Line 7; Bond, Lyons Legend 6; Hellabalou 5; Up Your Deo 4; Better Is Nice, Heaven Hanover, Warrawee Vital 2; French Wine, Funtime Bayama, Karl 1.
(USTA)
Cannibal
Cannibal, who has 8 wins in 10 starts and has earned over $300,000 this year, was ranked 10th in last week's poll. On Monday, he won a Kentucky Commonwealth Series race at The Red Mile by 4 lengths in 1:48.4. His LQ time was 26.1 and he went off at odds of 1-20. So it's all good, right? No, apparently it's not. He dropped out of the top 10 in yesterday's poll!