Tall Dark Stranger tops final poll of 2020

Hightstown, NJ — Three-year-old male pacer Tall Dark Stranger finished the Grand Circuit season the No. 1-ranked horse in the final Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, garnering 25 of 35 first-place votes. Tall Dark Stranger, who was retired following his Breeders Crown runner-up finish Oct. 31, won 11 of 13 races and $1.30 million. His earnings led all harness racing horses in North America.

Tall Dark Stranger was ranked no worse than third at any point during the poll’s 21 weeks. He took over the top spot in Week 13 of the rankings and stayed there for the remaining nine weeks.

There were no changes to the rankings in the poll’s top 10 this week. Party Girl Hill, Gimpanzee, Kissin In The Sand, and Perfect Sting completed the top five. Party Girl Hill received eight first-place votes while Gimpanzee and Perfect Sting split the remaining two.

Rounding out the rankings were Bettor’s Wish, Amigo Volo, Manchego, Atlanta, and Ramona Hill.

Gimpanzee led the rankings for the first six weeks before giving up No. 1 to Ramona Hill, who spent the next six weeks at the top of the poll.

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 21 – 12/1/2020 – FINAL

Rank Name (First Votes) A/G/S Record Earnings Points Pvs
1 Tall Dark Stranger (25) 3pc 13-11-1-0 $1,302,681 334 1
2 Party Girl Hill (8) 3pf 16-15-0-1 $880,345 301 2
3 Gimpanzee (1) 4th 11-8-1-1 $980,964 245 3
4 Kissin In The Sand 5pm 12-8-1-0 $491,984 221 4
5 Perfect Sting (1) 2pc 10-10-0-0 $534,300 214 5
6 Bettor’s Wish 4ph 13-6-3-2 $685,432 142 6
7 Amigo Volo 3tg 15-9-1-2 $939,498 123 7
8 Manchego 5tm 13-6-2-2 $599,451 119 8
9 Atlanta 5tm 12-5-4-1 $749,014 82 9
10 Ramona Hill 3tf 10-6-1-1 $915,615 79 10

ALSO: Anoka Hanover 19; Shartin N 18; Test Of Faith 13; Action Uncle, Caviart Ally, Leonidas A, Sorella, Venerate 2; Charlie May, Major Custard, Peaky Sneaky, Plunge Blue Chip, Yall Beneath Me 1.

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