This link might be an interesting read also.
http://cals.arizona.edu/classes/ans142/readings/Module03.html
[QUOTE=Linny;8725429]
Higher level claiming races offer opportunities for the non stakes horses. Since no secretary I know has ever written a race for “Non winners of 6 other than…” the claiming ranks are the way to go if a horse is out of conditions.
Most “optional claimers” are written like this: “non winners of 2 races other than maiden, claiming or starter OR claiming price of $30k” If the horse has won more than 2 races “other than” then he can only enter for the tag. Contrary to popular thought, those horses that are in for the tag are often better racehorses than the ones in under the condition.
“Starter” races are usually open to horses which have run for a pre determined tag at a certain point. (“Open to horses which have started for a claiming price of $20 or less since Jan 1st 2015.”) If you have a stakes quality horse that happened to have been in for a tag in that time frame, you are eligible. Some trainers are willing to drop maidens into fairly low claiming races so that they become eligible for starter races. Since cheap maidens are rarely claimed from their debuts, it’s often a risk worth taking.
In NY, they often combine starters with other conditions like “started for $20k AND never won 2 races” so they are pretty much assembling horses that broke their maiden for $20k or less. They also combine starters with optionals where there is an allowance condition (NW2x) or a claiming tag ($30k) and/or the requirement that the horse had run for a certain tag before.
The purpose of the claiming race (and all conditions, really) is to create a competitive race with a full field. The idea is to match horses with others of similar ability. The horse that can win for a $40k tag might crush a field of $30k horses, but you’d probably lose him. OTOH, he’d be unlikely to handle the $50-60k crew who are just a notch better. It’s expensive to keep horses training without WINNING races. At most venues the winner gets about 60% of the purse and runner up and third get 20% and 10% respectively. That is a huge gap, so you can see why a barn needs to win. The trainer’s job is to assess the competition and determine at which level the horse has the best chance to win.[/QUOTE]
“At most venues the winner gets about 60% of the purse and runner up and third get”
As you know but others may not take into account. From the 60% of the total purse the owners ends up only getting 40%. The trainer and jockey each get 10% out of that.
A horse’s lifetime earnings is the “gross” paid/earned not the net to the owners.
A good tutorial
At Woodbine, purses are distributed as follows. Win-60%, Place-20%, Show-10%, 4th-6%, 5th-4%. We also get $400, just for showing up, for anything 6th or worse. Pays the jock, and the Lasix fee. 
[QUOTE=Shammy Davis;8725534]
This link might be an interesting read also.
http://cals.arizona.edu/classes/ans142/readings/Module03.html[/QUOTE]
Thank you. Looks like good reading and I’ll have to check into what class ANS142 is (the URL is in my neighborhood potential )
And thank you all. Just the kind of thing I was looking for. I can Google some of this stuff but having people who have been/are in the racing industry explaining their thought process is awesome 
(and people I trust vs who knows what you get from Google 
).
[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8725844]
Thank you. Looks like good reading and I’ll have to check into what class ANS142 is (the URL is in my neighborhood potential )
And thank you all. Just the kind of thing I was looking for. I can Google some of this stuff but having people who have been/are in the racing industry explaining their thought process is awesome (and people I trust vs who knows what you get from Google ).[/QUOTE]
Did I tell you I have some oceanfront property in AZ that I’m selling cheap? It’s just south of Huachuca City. Lovely scenic area with delightful sun drenched weather, gated trailer parks, close to military bases, strip joints, go go bars, and endless fence lines of rusted barbwire. 50% down, no closing cost, no lawyers, and reasonable balloon payment. Credit problems? Not a worry.
[QUOTE=Shammy Davis;8725874]
Did I tell you I have some oceanfront property in AZ that I’m selling cheap? It’s just south of Huachuca City. Lovely scenic area with delightful sun drenched weather, gated trailer parks, close to military bases, strip joints, go go bars, and endless fence lines of rusted barbwire. 50% down, no closing cost, no lawyers, and reasonable balloon payment. Credit problems? Not a worry.;)[/QUOTE]
How much? Sounds like my kind of area. People in the horse business like pay when you can terms.
Will you trade for a couple of horses? They look fast but no guarantees.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8726009]
How much? Sounds like my kind of area. People in the horse business like pay when you can terms.
Will you trade for a couple of horses? They look fast but no guarantees.[/QUOTE]
For you, no accommodation is too much. I’ll even throw in the electric southern border security fence maintained by the border patrol and a couple of my older mares and a couple of old western saddles to soften the emotional loss you will suffer by giving yours up.
Even better, there is local rubbish collection that should be very inviting for you. Haha.
[QUOTE=gumtree;8725556]
A good tutorial[/QUOTE]
Of course!
Ocean front… where do I sign up
I’ll bet those Border Patrol will give the pool boys a run for their money in the looks department
[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8726228]
Ocean front… where do I sign up
I’ll bet those Border Patrol will give the pool boys a run for their money in the looks department ;)[/QUOTE]
Lifeguards, no pool boys. If you want pool boys, I have a nice condo, really igloo, in AK with unlimited year around outdoor pool privileges. Also in walking distance of the Bering Sea. On a clear day, you can imagine you see Russia. Same terms as AZ property.
I would not be surprised to learn AK border patrol moonlight as pool boys.
:lol:
If there are pool boys, I’m there I’ve been to Nome, highly underrated as a prime vacation spot…
[QUOTE=Where’sMyWhite;8726435]
:lol:
If there are pool boys, I’m there I’ve been to Nome, highly underrated as a prime vacation spot… :)[/QUOTE]
Well, I don’t know about you but I have had enough of my own foolishness so I’m taking both properties off the market until this BREXIT situation is settled and I can unload all my UK golf courses off on Donald Trump.
Back to your OP.:yes: I recalled a few years back an article on “Night School.” I loved going to night school. It was next step up after reform school.:o So I checked it out and found it on the Paulick Report. This might also interest you and others.
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/night-school-understanding-race-conditions/
As Paulick explained, it has a YouTube page and is a numbered series dedicated to explaining horse racing. Lots of well established and knowledgeable racing contributors involved in its production.
Here is #1 and if you check the right column of video listings the others should be in order. Enjoy.
Very cool even if there are no pool boys.
Not an owner or trainer with no plans in either direction but if I am going to entertain my brain with things other than pool boys, i.e. watching racing on TV, thought it might be interesting to understand more about what goes on behind the scenes on the lesser races than the graded stakes races
Thank you guys and thanks SD for those additional links.
Saratoga condition books aren’t up yet. For any of the NYRA tracks, go to nyra.com, and it will automatically open to the currently active track. For now it’s Belmont, but you can still click on Saratoga to check. Go to “horsemen” and you’ll find the link for the condition books.
You can just stay on the Belmont page for now, and check out the condition books there.
Right, I noticed Saratoga wasn’t available yet.
Until it does, I’ll most likely look at SA as that is a track I have been too (although been to Belmont as well) as I grew up in LA so Hollywood Park and SA are tracks I am more familiar with. Never went to Los Al even though I lived about 2 miles from it at one point.
