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Perfect Sting returned to the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll this week after he battled back in a dramatic stretch drive on Saturday in a conditioned Meadowlands contest to win his first harness racing start since May 30. He gained a whopping 93 points after not making the list last week and garnered one first-place vote.
The top three remained the same, but It’s Academic’s win in a $50,000 Graduate division on Saturday landed him enough additional support to overtake Nicholas Beach for fourth. The latter still holds two first-place votes despite not racing since May 30. Southwind Gendry moved down one spot as Perfect Sting took sixth.
Racine Bell made her debut on the poll in eighth after she equaled the world record for four-year-old pacing mares – 1:48.1 – in the Kissin In The Sand Final at The Meadowlands on Saturday. Her impressive mile resulted in a gain of 45 points from last week. Ruthless Hanover also made his first appearance on the list as he won a $75,000 division of the Graduate. Captain Barbossa dropped one spot to 10th.
Alexa Skye, Machnhope, and When Dovescry lost their places in the top 10.
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 5 – 6/22/2021
| Rank | Name (First Place Votes) | Age/Sex/Gait | Record | Earnings | Points | Pvs | |||||||
| 1 | Manchego (27) | 6mt | 3-3-0-0 | $132,095 | 341 | 1 | |||||||
| 2 | This Is The Plan (5) | 6gp | 9-3-6-0 | $449,500 | 303 | 2 | |||||||
| 3 | Abuckabett Hanover | 3cp | 3-3-0-0 | $72,686 | 224 | 3 | |||||||
| 4 | It’s Academic | 4ht | 11-6-1-2 | $192,594 | 206 | 5 | |||||||
| 5 | Nicholas Beach (2) | 5gp | 7-5-2-0 | $107,950 | 161 | 4 | |||||||
| 6 | Perfect Sting (1) | 3cp | 2-1-1-0 | $21,511 | 127 | — | |||||||
| 7 | Southwind Gendry | 3gp | 3-2-1-0 | $89,689 | 102 | 6 | |||||||
| 8 | Racine Bell | 4mp | 12-8-1-2 | $130,050 | 52 | — | |||||||
| 9 | Ruthless Hanover | 4gp | 4-3-1-0 | $100,000 | 50 | — | |||||||
| 10 | Captain Barbossa | 4gp | 6-3-1-1 | $77,250 | 47 | 9 |
ALSO: Alexa Skye 46; Test Of Faith 39; Machnhope 34; Hot Mess Express 29; When Dovescry 24; Heart Of Chewbacca 19; Hypnotic AM, Winning Ticket 13; Beads 12; Lindy The Great 11; Captain Corey 8; Ahundreddollarbill, Always A Miki, Southwind Amazon 7; Charlie May, One Eight Hundred, South Beach Star 6; Allywag Hanover, Really Fast, Rockapelo 4; Rattle My Cage 3; Backstreet Shadow, Beltassima, I Did It Myway, Shake That House 2; Iteration, Whiskey Blu 1.
by Ken Weingartner, for the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown
