Well I just do not get it. I cannot possibly see how allowing individuals to claim horses and run them back immediately for a quick buck is going to help horse racing in British Columbia. What it will do is force owners to run horses where they do not belong for fear of losing them. They will eventually become frustrated and leave. It happens now. Are we just trying to accelerate the process? I thought we were looking for owners. Here is a thought. Some owners and trainers actually like their horses and having them claimed is an emotional strain. Now do not get me wrong…..all horses that run for a claiming tag are for sale. That’s life. That’s the rules.
But most horses escape the claim because to run them back where they last ran would require that horse to sit on the fence for 25 days before they can run again at that level. That costs money. And finally go to the Equibase site and review the list of all owners at Hastings that have run a horse at least once. The list is about 325 names long. But the last 200 owners on the list most likely have only 1 or 2 horses at best and these are the ones that get hurt. Most of these owners have their trainer buy a horse, break the horse, winter the horse, and train the horse only to see the horse claimed at almost any price. Then they get see the horse run back the following week with the new owner/trainer looking for just a piece of the pot. This is all good for horse racing????
The point in all of this is we do not want to do anything that would chase any owners away, not one. The claiming rules now in place work and have worked for a long time. Don’t fix which is not broke. We may discover a whole new bunch of unattended consequences that we did not bargain for.
I have checked other jurisdictions such as California, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky and the great State of New York and all have claiming rules such as ours. Mr. Brown’s claim that many jurisdictions have changed their rules is proving hard to verify. Perhaps at the Arctic Circle, the Upper Volga Region of Russia and Botswana, their rules have been altered but not in any areas I have searched. But I will keep looking. If any of you find a jurisdiction where they have changed the rules I will be in my box at the track Friday night. Claiming rules for Camel racing in Egypt do not count.
New York
4038.3. Conditions for starting claimed horse. If a horse is claimed it shall not start in a claiming race for a period of 30 days from date of claim for less than 25 percent more than the amount for which it was claimed.
Pennsylvania
163.254. Starting of claimed horses.
For a period of 30 days after the claim, a claimed horse may not start in a race in which the determining eligibility price is less than 25% more than the price at which it was claimed. The day claimed does not count, but the following calendar day shall be the first day and the horse shall be entitled to enter whenever necessary so the horse may start on the 31st calendar day following the claim for any claiming price. This section does not apply to starter handicaps in which the weight to be carried is assigned by the handicapper.
Illinois
Section 510.250 Claiming Price
a) For a period of 20 days after the claim of a thoroughbred horse, it shall not start in a race in which the eligibility price is less than 25% more than the price at which it was claimed. For a period of 10 days thereafter, a thoroughbred horse is eligible to run back for the same claiming price or higher.
California
1663. Entry of Claimed Horse
(a) A horse claimed out of a claiming race is eligible to race at any racing association in California
immediately after being claimed. The horse is not eligible to start in a claiming race for 25 days
after the date of the claim for less than 25% more than the amount for which it was claimed.
Kentucky
810 KAR 1:015. Claiming races.
(5)(a) A claimed horse shall not run for thirty (30) days after being claimed in a race in which the determining eligibility price is less than twenty-five (25) percent more than the price for which the horse was claimed.
(b) The day following the day the horse is claimed shall be the first day;
(c) The claimed horse shall be entitled to enter whenever necessary to permit it to start on the 31st calendar day following the claim.
(d) This subsection shall not apply to starter handicaps in which the weight to be carried is assigned by the handicapper, and starter allowance races.
(6)(a) A horse claimed in a claiming race shall not be sold or transferred, wholly or in part, within thirty (30) days after the day it was claimed, except in another claiming race.
Michael Robert Bye
G&G Stable
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