The Racing Biz has been tracking claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic region and reporting on it weekly for the last several months, in our Claimbox report. 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 February 18, 2014.
Mid-Atlantic tracks managed to run just four full cards during the seven-day period ending February 18, resulting in significant declines in claiming activity region-wide. Laurel Park managed to squeeze in two cards — on the 12th and the 17th — while Charles Town and Parx Racing managed one each. Parx also squeezed in two races of their February 18 card before abandoning the day. Penn National did not run once and has not run at all since February 1.
The lack of activity did not prevent some shuffling among the Midlantic Claiming 7 list of the busiest trainers, however.
Scott Lake, one of only three trainers to claim two horses at the region’s tracks during the last seven days, moved to the top spot among the Claiming 7, narrowly. He’s claimed seven horses in the last 30 days with a gross value of $78,000 (average: $11,143) to take a narrow lead over Michael Pino. Pino also claimed two during the week and also has nabbed seven horses in the last 30 days — but the value of his claims lags slightly behind that of Lake. Patricia Farro, first a week ago, did not claim a horse during the last week and fell to sixth on the list, with five claims for the last month.
Two trainers entered the list this week after not being on it during the prior week. Hugh McMahon moved back onto the list, now in fifth place, after briefly dropping off it last week. He’s made five claims in the last month worth a combined $76,500; the average value of those claims, $15,300, leads the top 7. Marcos Zulueta also entered the list; he’s made four claims in the last 30 days. They replace Jamie Ness and Ferris Allen.
Wayne Potts, fourth on the list with six claims in the last 30 days, leads all trainers in the region in net gain. He lost just one horse via the claimbox in the last 30 days, giving him a net increase of five horses (and $65,500 in value). Hugh McMahon and Ramon Preciado weren’t far behind, each having added a net of three horses. On the other side of the ledger, Jamie Ness has lost six horses in the last 30 days and experienced a net loss of three horses, both tops in the region.
For the week…
With just four cards run in the mid-Atlantic — plus two races one other day at Parx — claiming activity plummeted to new lows.
Just 12 horses changed hands via the claimbox in the region last week — a 77 percent drop from the 52 claimed a week ago and the lowest, by far, recorded since The Racing Biz began tracking the data last June. The average price of claimed horses was essentially flat, and as a result, the gross value of claimed horses slumped from $545,250 to just $128,250.
For the week, eight horses were claimed at Parx, and four were claimed at Laurel. The average value at Parx, a bit shy of $11,000, was $750 higher than that at Laurel. No horses were claimed at Charles Town or Penn National.
The claimbox report covers claiming activity at Laurel Park, Parx Racing, Penn National, and Charles Town.
