Why no voter love for Miss Jum Jabber? 

by James Platz

During the heart of the stakes season, the excitement of each race weekend culminates in a new Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll the following Wednesday. It always makes for good fodder as we roll into the next weekend. That being said, as I perused the newest edition of the poll, I found myself asking the question: Why no voter love for Miss Jum Jabber?

Let me be completely transparent. I do not participate in the poll, and I’ve never been asked to do so. And I’m not a “homer” for Miss Jum Jabber or her connections. I don’t have a dog in the fight. But this week I found myself questioning why a filly with her credentials isn’t in the Top 10 after what she has accomplished on the track in 2026. She should not be on the outside looking in.

Let’s review the sophomore pacing filly’s body of work thus far this season. Fifteen starts, 13 wins. She ranks ninth among all North American horses for wins, that’s any age, and only fellow 3-year-olds Mt Camas and Captain Tate have reached the winner’s circle more this season, with 14 tallies each. 

The Brett Pelling-owned and trained pacing filly kicked off the season with a fourth-place finish in an overnight contest at The Meadowlands. She then rattled off eight straight trips to the winner’s circle. In boxing parlance, Miss Jum Jabber was facing off against contenders, not tomato cans, during the streak. Competing in PASS action, she scored victories against Loua Dipa, Bahama Momma, Sangria Summer and I’m A Lou Lou. Formidable competition.

After being nosed out by Shacarri in the Grade 3 Adioo Volo, Miss Jum Jabber has reeled off another five straight in Pennsylvania and Kentucky. Twice a winner in the Kentucky Championship Series, she returned to capture the $٣٠٠,٠٠٠ PASS championship by a neck over a stacked field of fillies. 

Back to the Bluegrass, she annexed another Kentucky Championship Series leg and followed that with a statement win last Sunday, clocking a 1:48 mile over the hallowed Red Mile clay with Andrew McCarthy in tow. Miss Jum Jabber handily secured the $400,000 final by 3½ lengths.

How did voters embrace the performance? Can we say tepid at best? In the week leading into the KYSS final, Miss Jum Jabber finished 11th in the polling with 33 points. After her second finals win in 14 days? Still 11th, this time with 57 points, five shy of Best Chip, he of Canadian Pacing Derby fame.

Unraced as a freshman, the filly has accumulated seasonal earnings of $606,139, ranking her fourth among all sophomore pacers in North America. Only Brandon Blvd, Al Papi, and Melillo have earned more this year, and among the current Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown leaders, she trails Super Chapter, Brandon Blvd, and Apex in money won as of the last poll.

No horse in the current poll has 13 wins. To take a cue from DJ Kaled, all she does is win, win, win! Her 1:48 mark is tied with Loua Dipa as the top mark for 3-year-old pacing fillies this season. While no one statistic seals the deal, reviewing them as a collection makes a strong case for an egregious omission by voters.

Looking at this less as a journalist and more as a racing fan, this is further exacerbated by the fact that Miki And Minnie remains in the poll week after week. No offense to the great mare and her connections. This is less about the horse and more about those that continue to cast their vote for her weekly. Standardbred Canada reported Aug. 20… yes, Aug. 20, that the mare had sustained a hairline fracture that required surgery. She was shelved for the season. The day before the announcement, Miki And Minnie ranked second in the poll, garnering five first place votes to the 22 cast for Apex.

In a business that is predicated on what have you done for me lately, Miki And Minnie’s season ended one month ago. We are now at the height of the stakes season and this week she slipped from seventh in the poll to eighth?! The poll should reflect horses that are currently racing, and winning. Miki And Minnie’s presence in the poll is denying another horse entry to the list, be it Miss Jum Jabber or another qualified pacer or trotter.

Hambletonian Oaks winner Nezuko Kamado S, by contrast, slipped from sixth the week before to ninth in the latest poll after racing fourth in her Kentucky Championship Series final, penalized to the point she ranks below a horse that last raced in August. I focus only on the most recent poll for this column, but it is not an isolated incident. And it most certainly will not be the last poll that raises questions.

Are voters following the racing each week? Are votes cast more on name recognition and prior accomplishments over recent results? I’d like to better understand the rationale. Is the focus – and weighting – slanted more toward graded stakes wins? Dan Patch Awards? Breeding? Connections? Jurisdiction? Are victories in the Jug and Jugette, both Grade 1 stakes, so significant in the minds of voters that they propel Loua Dipa and Redland Rocket Man into the Top 10? They attracted 13 and eight points, respectively, in the last poll.

I understand that the Hambletonian Society/Breeders Crown poll carries no weight in end-of-season awards. It is clearly stated that the poll does not, and rightly so. And I will concede that no system is perfect. But the poll should serve as a barometer better reflecting the product on the track each week throughout the season. The fact that it does not erodes credibility.