by Ken Weingartner, USTA Media Relations Manager
Hightstown, NJ — Hannelore Hanover continued her reign at No. 1 in the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll, but little else remained the same.
Only one horse, idle 3-year-old trotter Wolfgang, stayed in the same position (No. 7) as a week ago. Three newcomers joined the Top 10 while Bit Of A Legend N, Will Take Charge, and Keystone Velocity dropped out.
Six-year-old Hannelore Hanover won Friday’s open handicap at the Meadowlands in 1:50.3 and received all but one of 35 first-place votes in this week’s voting. She has been No. 1 all six weeks of the rankings.
Idle 5-year-old female pacer Shartin N moved from third to second following the Hempt Memorial loss by last week’s No. 2-ranked horse, 3-year-old male pacer Lather Up. Lather Up dropped to third, followed by idle 3-year-old female trotter Atlanta in fourth and 7-year-old newcomer McWicked, the Ben Franklin Pace champ, at No 5.
Three-year-old female trotter Manchego, who lost for the first time in 16 career races in the Beal Memorial, dropped from fourth to sixth. Three-year-old female pacer Kissin In The Sand, the Lynch Memorial winner, debuted at No. 8 while Cleveland Trotting Classic winner Marion Marauder, a 5-year-old stallion, joined the Top 10 at No. 10. Sandwiched between was 4-year-old male pacer Filibuster Hanover, who slid from sixth to ninth after a fifth-place finish in the Franklin.
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.
Rankings based on the votes of harness racing media representatives on a 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis.
HambletonianSociety/Breeders Crown Standardbred Poll: Week 6 – 7/3/2018
|
Rank
|
Name (First Place Votes)
|
Age/Gait/Sex
|
Record
|
Earnings
|
Points
|
Pvs
|
|
1
|
Hannelore Hanover (34)
|
6tm
|
5-5-0-0
|
$218,338
|
349
|
1
|
|
2
|
Shartin N
|
5pm
|
14-11-1-0
|
$560,923
|
265
|
3
|
|
3
|
|
3pc
|
8-7-0-0
|
$470,665
|
243
|
2
|
|
4
|
Atlanta
|
3tf
|
4-4-0-0
|
$147,584
|
232
|
5
|
|
5
|
McWicked (1)
|
7ph
|
6-4-1-0
|
$324,850
|
159
|
—
|
|
6
|
Manchego
|
3tf
|
4-3-0-0
|
$55,740
|
153
|
4
|
|
7
|
Wolfgang
|
3tc
|
2-2-0-0
|
$112,630
|
94
|
7
|
|
8
|
Kissin In The Sand
|
3pf
|
5-3-2-0
|
$264,370
|
77
|
—
|
|
9
|
Filibuster Hanover
|
4pg
|
7-5-1-0
|
$235,975
|
55
|
6
|
|
10
|
Marion Marauder
|
5th
|
5-3-2-0
|
$169,500
|
54
|
—
|