The 8-year-old Golden Receiver has won eight of nine starts this year, including the Presidential Series Final and an opening-round division of the TVG Free for All Championship Series. Last season he finished tied for 15th place in the year-end rankings.
Wishing Stone, a 6-year-old male trotter coming off a track-record-equaling win in Sunday’s Maxie Lee Memorial Invitational, is second in the poll; the Levy Memorial Pacing Series winner Razzle Dazzle is third; followed by the Blue Chip Matchmaker winner Feeling You and the defending Pacer of the Year, Captaintreacherous.
Captaintreacherous finished fourth in last year’s final poll. Of the 28 horses to appear in last year’s final rankings, 25 have raced or are expected to race this season.