The Racing Biz has been tracking claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic region and reporting on it weekly for the last several months. We continue that, along with our Midlantic Claiming 7 — the trainers who have been busiest over the prior 30 days, ending in this case on November 12.
Claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic region rose for the third consecutive week, and while the top three in our Midlantic Claiming 7 remained essentially similar, two new faces appeared on the list, according to our Claimbox report.
Michael Pino claimed five horses during the last week for three different owners to surge to the top of the list. He’s claimed 11 in the last 30 days, one more than Patricia Farro, who headed the list last week, and three more than John Locke. It is Farro’s claims, however, that have the highest combined value, $142,500 (average: $14,250).
Two new names appear on the list: Ramon Preciado and Keith LeBarron. Preciado claimed three in the last week, for a total of 7 in the last 30 days, and LeBarron’s two claims gave him 5 in 30 days. The average value of LeBarron’s claims in that period — more than $18,000 — is tops among the top 7. Meanwhile, Scott Lake (5 claims, but a lower total value than LeBarron) and Jamie Ness (4 claims) fell off the list.
For the second week in a row, Jamie Ness led all trainers in having horses claimed from him during the period, having lost 10, with their combined value — $104,250 — also tops. Pino and Farro each lost eight during the period. Locke, Preciado, and Juan Vazquez all claimed five more horses than they lost during the period, the highest net recorded.
The list tracks horses claimed in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and at Parx Racing and Penn National in Pennsylvania and at West Virginia’s Charles Town Races.
For the week…
Claiming activity rose for the third straight week, exceeding recent average levels for the first time in a month.
Overall, 63 horses were claimed at the region’s tracks with a combined value of over $724,500. Though the number of claims was up just two horses from last week, their value rose by more than 18 percent, with the average moving up from just over $10,000 to $11,500.
As is often the case, Parx Racing was the busiest track in the region. Twenty-nine horses changed hands their via the claimbox last week, with a combined value of $374,000. That easily outpaced the region’s second busiest track, Penn National, which saw 17 claims last week.
