What an odd person. Why do people feel free to freak out about a subject they know nothing about? I can only imagine how weird it must feel to have to explain your racing choices to random people on facebook.
It’s nice that people here ask questions when they don’t understand. Well, most people here do.
I can’t speak for anyone else but I enjoyed this conversation. When you know something so well it is hard to step back and see how complicated it really is.
Right, don’t see $5k claimers running at Gulfstream’s Championship meet for example.
:rolleyes: at having to explain and explain that claiming isn’t abuse but do like your answer… right in line with responding to the Chromies… pony up the cash and the horse is yours 
:lol:
The thing about Facebook is that I have lots of “friends” because of the books I write. And then I go and talk about things that are happening in my life–which includes horseracing. And although most of the people I interact with are caring animal people (dogs and cats usually) the majority of them know nothing about horseracing. Many, however, have read the sensationalistic PETA headlines and for that reason some of them believe that people who race horses are the spawn of the devil.
So I try to see it as an opportunity to provide an education about racing, and breeding, and Thoroughbreds in general. Plus I post lots of cute foal pictures because everyone likes babies. And every so often there’s a good dialog about racing that presents the sport in a light that they might not previously have seen it. 
That is a good opportunity for educating people. Well done you. :yes:
A few follow-on questions as I watched various flavours of claiming races today at Gulfstream and Oaklawn Park.
I have gotten the impression that generally (always?), when the gate opens the horse belongs to the new owner (unless the claim is voided for some reason).
I assume the new owner gets the purse money. Does the jockey get paid from the new owner’s purse money or by the old owner?
What about the old trainer? Do they get paid by the old owner? Does the new trainer get a % of the new owner’s purse $$?
TVG has spent, a few times, talking about claiming strategy and why one would not put a $5K claimer in a $50K claiming race (or vice versa). They also mentioned how a horse (forget track/race today) that had been claimed and immediately had a 7 month layoff. Horse was entered in a claiming race today but the layoff had been long enough that, while the horse was in a claiming race, the horse was protected and couldn’t be claimed.
I think reading the condition book might give me a big headache
The horse does belong to the new owner as soon as the gate opens but no, the purse goes to the old owner. That is what I meant by some purses being so big that they didn’t care if they lost the horse when they dropped him to a claiming price that was way less than he was worth.
I would just like to add a big Thank You to everyone who responded on this thread. I learned so much!
I’ve only been to the track (Sam Houston) a few times, but I loved it, and I love learning more about the business.
As LaurieRace said, the purse goes to the person who entered the horse, so the money to the trainer, jockey (and barn help) is distributed as it normally would be.
Also, in recent years, many jurisdictions have changed their claiming rules so that the horse does not change hands when the gate opens but rather when the horse finishes the race and jogs back sound. (Which is a much better idea!) That prevents nasty owners from dumping unsound horses into claiming races in the hope that they become someone else’s problem.
@LaurieB I didn’t realize that more jurisdictions are moving toward making the ownership change hands if the horse jogs back sound. Much better, IMO, idea than trying to potentially pass off a problem that might show up after the gates open.
Both, good to know that purse money goes to the old owner (much clearer with the above jog back sound qualification) who can distribute monies as they normally would, regardless of if the horse was claimed or not.
Another circumstance that voids a claim is if a claimed horse fails a post-race drug test.
LaurieB and Laurierace have got it covered and both do a great job explaining. I’ve tried for years to educate some people about claiming races and honestly, horse people who don’t follow racing can be the hardest to teach! My riding friends simply cant fathom plunking down $30k and walking off with the horse post-race because they vetted their horse 6 ways to Sunday and peppered the seller with questions and fretted over every step.
As for the mechanics, trainers who claim must be licensed in the state and in some cases there are other rules, like you must have started a horse at the meet or have stalls at the track or attendant training center. (Most racehorses live at the tracks or at big training centers close to the tracks.) The official entries for all the races usually takes place a few days before and the track publishes an “overnight sheet” which is essentially a list of entries for upcoming races. Most of this is online now. Trainers who deal in claiming horses primarily generally know the local pool of horses and keeps and eye on them. When they see one they are interested in at an appropriate price they might buy him themselves or they approach an owner who might be interested and who has the money. (Why a trainer might be interested in a certain horse could be a whole other set of posts!) The money for the claim has to be in your account at the track. The Horseman’s Bookkeeper handles such matters. When purse money is won it gets deposited there and various disbursements made for payment to jockey and other fees. You must have enough in the account to cover the price of the claim and the sales tax and fees if applicable.
Once a potential claim is identified the trainer might try to get any info on the horse that he can, watch for his jogging in the morning, ask any employees for info but claiming trainers play it very close to the vest and don’t keep loose lipped staff! Trainers with a horse entered that they don’t want to get claimed have been known to spread rumors that he’s been ill or sore. They might pack his standing wraps with ice so his legs look lumpy to observers, they might bring him to the paddock (saddling area) before the race with bandages on etc to deter claims. Once he’s there for saddling the trainer who wants to claim him has a few minutes to get look at him. Usually the claim slip must be in the box in the racing secretary’s office by the time the horses leave the paddock. (This is known as “dropping a slip” on the horse.) Then he waits. If there are multiple slips in the box the secretary’s office could be very crowded.
Barring any issues, the horse changes hands after the race. In NY, a member of the racing secretary’s staff goes out when the horses “come back” for unsaddling and clips a colored tag on the halter of the claimed horse who, if he’s not required to go to the test barn, then goers off with the new trainer’s groom to his new home.
Claiming can be cutthroat and as mentioned claiming trainers need a face like a poker player. A few years ago at Saratoga a very nice high class sometime stakes horse was dropped in “for a tag.” The horse was owned aby a partnership and the whole gang was in town. The claiming price was at least $150k! Well, not only did he not win, but the horse was claimed! I’ve never seen so much gnashing of teeth and clutching of pearls. The new connections were being cursed all over the clubhouse. OTOH, in the early 2000’s there was a popular old claimer who had to have a special diet because he had few teeth after an accident. He was a regular winner and every time he was claimed, the trainer who lost him would pass along the recipe for what he was to be fed! It was an act of kindness and respect to a horse that performed so well for so long for so many.
As for races being competitive, trainers want their horses in the easiest company they can face without losing them. Tracks want evenly matched races with full fields because the make money from the “handle” which is the amount bet. All the bets are pooled and the track skims a % off the top and distributes the rest to the winning bettors. Bettors get better payouts for being right when the fields are big and evenly matched.
Actually, the purse money is put in the owner’s account, that the track then administers. Jockey fees, and Lasix fees, and here in Canada taxes on those services, are debited from said account. We even have tax on the claiming price of the horse, too. 13%.
Trainer’s % of purse is put on monthly billing.
It should also be mentioned that sometimes it goes the other way. A trainer claims a horse that later goes on to become a major stakes winner. One California favorite, Lava Man, was claimed for something like $50,000 (?) and went on to become a major stakes winner. He still is at the track, albeit as a pony, with his very own Facebook page and legions of fans.
Must be frustrating. What they are totally missing is that they vet the horse 6 ways to Sunday because it’s a horse they’ve most likely never seen before.
As you noted, the trainers don’t ‘vet the horse 6 ways to Sunday’ but these horses and trainers aren’t living in a vacuum. The trainers talk, they watch the horse work in the morning, they watch… the horse gets ‘vetted’ for sure, just not the way most people vetted their own horse.
I love the stories, @Linny!
Years ago we had horses with Dale Romans. Most trainers have the horses’ names next to their stalls (often written in marker on a piece of duct tape). Dale had no identifiers on his horses. I asked him why that was and he said he didn’t want rival trainers coming around his barn late at night to check out horses he might want to drop in for a tag. He also tended to change their stalls pretty frequently, just to keep everyone guessing.
I have to admit, we have been known to send a horse over for a claiming race wearing polo wraps with wadded up tissue underneath. Sometimes we make it look like a bowed tendon and sometimes we go for the shape of a splint. :lol:
At Keeneland, horses gather for each race at barn 21. When it’s time to go, they walk with their connections through barn 20 then turn left and follow the rubber paver walkway to the back entrance to the paddock. People who are interested in claiming a horse will often sit on the stone wall that faces the opening in barn 20 to watch the horses come at them. The shenanigans that ensure can be pretty funny. Trainers telling grooms to weave from side to side rather than walking a straight line, owners and friends artfully placed in front of the horse (rather than beside or behind) to block people’s view–followed by the wall sitters jumping up and moving around to try and get a look, all while trying to appear totally casual or as if they’re not even interested in the horses at all.
Ah, the intrigue of claiming. Who knew? :lol:
@LaurieB Too funny… love these ‘real life’ ‘unscripted’ behaviors surrounding claiming horses and the process :lol:
Yes. My former outfit at Finger Lakes was interested in a horse whose travel path went by our barn. My post was at the end of the barn and I was to act like I was on a casual phone call as the prospect went by. Our goal was to catch the horse right out of its barn to see what it looked like before it had a chance to loosen up or have a little pre-race adrenalin hide any aggravations.
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