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 April 1, 2014.
After five straight weeks of overall increases, claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic dropped rather substantially this week. But the average value of claims jumped to its highest level in more than two months.
On the Midlantic Claiming 7 list of busiest trainers, Scott Lake, who last week ceded the top spot after having held it for the three prior weeks, regained the lead after a week in which he claimed three horses. Both he and Wayne Potts have claimed 10 horses in the last 30 days, with Lake’s $94,000 in claims well above Potts’s level; Lake also led in the dollar value of claims. Dane Kobiskie, who led all trainers last week, was fifth with six claims in the last 30 days. With those claims worth $89,250, the average value, $14,875, led all trainers.
Patricia Farro and Ramon Preciado entered the list this week,at the sixth and seventh spots, respectively. They replaced Jamie Ness and Kieron Magee.
John Locke led all trainers in net gain over the last 30 days. He claimed nine, good for third on the list, and lost just one via the claimbox, leaving him with a net gain of eight horses. Ronney Brown and Potts were second and third with net gains of six and five horses, respectively. On the flip side, Tim Kreiser lost seven via the claimbox which, set against his two claims, left him with a net loss of five horses, most in the region. Louis Linder and Hugh McMahon each had a net loss of four horses. Leading claimant Lake lost 10 through the claimbox over the last 30 days, leaving him with a net of zero.
For the week…
After five straight weeks of gains, claiming activity dropped. But a couple of big-ticket purchases at Laurel propelled an increase in the average value of those claims.
Overall, 50 horses changed hands via the claimbox, nearly a 30 percent dip from last week’s 70. That was the lowest weekly total since the 43 claimed during February 19-25. However, that number included a $50,000 claim and a $45,000 claim — both unusually expensive for mid-Atlantic claims — leading the region’s average to rise by nearly 16 percent, to $11,150. That resulted in a gross value of $557,500, a drop of 17 percent from the prior week.
Laurel Park was the region’s claiming hot spot, leading the four operating tracks in the number of horses claimed (17), total dollar value ($234,500), and average value ($13,794). Parx Racing and Penn National both saw 13 claims during the week, while Charles Town had seven.
The claimbox report covers claiming activity at Laurel Park, Parx Racing, Penn National, and Charles Town.
Weekly Dollar Value of Horses Changing Hands
