Whoa! Big shakeup in Top Ten Poll

There was a shakeup at the top of the Week 5 Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown harness racing poll released Tuesday (July 16), with Dorothy Haughton Memorial winner Twin B Joe Fresh taking over the No. 1 spot and Meadowlands Pace champ Legendary Hanover vaulting from eighth to second.

Nijinsky, who was ranked No. 1 for the first four weeks, dropped to third after his second-place finish in the Meadowlands Pace.

Jerry Silverman Memorial division winner Its A Love Thing moved from sixth to fourth. Jiggy Jog S, who was idle, completed the top five.

Karl, who suffered his first loss of the year in a division of the Stanley Dancer Memorial, dropped from second to sixth. He was followed by William R. Haughton Memorial winner Abuckabett Hanover, the lone newcomer to the Top 10.

Rounding on the Top 10 were Winner’s Bet (10th in the Hambletonian Maturity), T C I (third in a Dancer division), and Highland Kismet (sixth in a Dancer division).

Captain’s Quarters dropped out of the Top 10.

Rankings 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, which will be released every Tuesday through the remainder of the Grand Circuit season, 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.

by Ken Weingartner, for the USTA