[QUOTE=Linny;4409080]
he’s going to find himself in either listed stakes or high claiming races. Many go back and forth between stakes and claiming! [/QUOTE]
Not always. Some tracks have open ALW races and you can also find them with money conditions.
There are some open allowances. Here in NY the “money” allowances often have date clauses that prohibit horses that have won certain bigger purses. At Saratoga they boost purses, and then add a & starter bonus if more than 7 compete. It means that the winner of a claiming race at the Spa could find himself ineligible for a money allowance!
They run starters at alot of places too. In NY they starters often read “Have started for a claiming tag of $X AND are eligible for NW1 ofther than…” So much for the old timer with 3 allowance wins…
What they do in NY is run open allowances in the form of “fake stakes” usually with a nice purse, say $65k. They are often nice races but her in NY they also often draw major graded runners. Last week, Lucky Island (G2 winner) Songster (G2 winner) and Ravalo(G3 winner) ran in such a race. There were a couple of other tough birds in there too. They are some of the best sprinters on the circuit! The race in which Midshipman and Storm Play returned 2 weeks ago is similar. You might as well go for a G2 than a race like that!
I hear ya, Linny. They write the money ALW with dates at Keeneland and you always wonder if they’re writing a specific horse out of the race (ie hasn’t won $12,450 since August 17th). Of course, I’m not a racing secretary, so there may be another reason for it that I don’t know about. The dates and amounts just seem a bit odd.
Unless the date is 6 mos or 1 year prior, it was written for someone. How about “Non winners of $1.2 since may 1st 2009” to admit Mine That Bird?
Today’s open allowance billed as the “Mr. Right S” at Belmont featured 3 horses from the 2008 G1 Suburban as well as multiple sw Hunting from McGaughey and Honour Devil, winner of 2/3 of the Dubai Triple Crown. Not an easy spot.
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