According to our latest Claimbox report, the number of horses claimed from mid-Atlantic tracks during the seven-day period ending August 20 rose, though the gross and average values of those horses fell.
A total of 69 horses were claimed from races at Charles Town, Delaware, Monmouth, Parx, and Penn National, up from 64 the prior week and equaling the most claimed in any seven-day period in the last two months. The value of those horses, a bit over $775,000, was down about 1.5 percent from the prior week. The average price — about $11,235 — was down over eight percent from the prior week, while the median of $10,000 remained unchanged.
The numbers were achieved despite a lighter than normal schedule. Because of track issues caused by the weather, Delaware canceled its August 14 live card, while technical difficulties led to the cancellation of three races on Charles Town’s August 16 card. With the extra day-and-a-third, it is likely that additional horses would have been claimed, boosting the gross value above last week’s.
Parx was far and away the busiest venue for claiming activity. Twenty-six horses were claimed from the Bensalem track, a total of $271,500 worth of claims, which also topped the tracks. The nine horses claimed at Delaware fetched an average price of over $18,000, the region’s highest.
Patricia Farro and Jamie Ness were the region’s busiest trainers, as each claimed three horses. The $57,500 worth of horses claimed by Farro was also tops. On the other side of the coin, Lisa Guerrero and Ramon Moya each lost three via the claimbox, while the one horse McLean Robertson lost — Making Waves, for $50,000 — was tops in that category.
