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 May 20, 2014.
For the third time in the last eight weeks, exactly 50 horses were claimed in the mid-Atlantic during the seven-day period ending May 20. With no Claimbox report last week — we, like everyone else, were buried under a Preakness blizzard — there has been some shuffling among the Midlantic Claiming 7 list of trainers ranked by horses claimed. But overall, the list looks not too dissimilar from the prior list.
Patricia Farro is at the top of the heap. She has claimed eight horses in the last 30 days, with a combined value of $86,000 (average: $10,750). That gives her the edge on Wayne Potts, who has also made eight claims but for a combined total of less than $50,000. Scott Lake, third on the list with seven claims, tops all trainers in the dollar value of those claims ($128,000) and average value ($18,285).
The only newcomer to the list in the last two weeks is Ernest Haynes, who has made five claims with a combined value of $26,500 (average: $5,300) in the last 30 days. He replaces Kimberly Graci.
Ronney Brown, fourth on the Midlantic Claiming 7, led all trainers during the period in net gain of horses. He added seven while losing just two for a net gain of five horses. That allowed him to edge Farro and Kieron Magee, who saw a net gain of four horses each. Lake had the most horses — six — claimed away from him, one more than Rudy Rodriguez, Wayne Potts, and Hugh McMahon lost. McMahon, who claimed two, and Marcos Zulueta both had a net loss of three horses over the 30-day period.
For the week…
For the third time in eight weeks, exactly 50 horses were claimed during the 30 days ending May 20.
The 50 horses claimed had a total value of $561,000 (average: $11,220). The median value was $10,000. Though the number of claims, value, and average all were down versus the week ending May 13, all compared favorably with prior 50-claim weeks.
Parx Racing was the region’s busiest track. Nineteen horses changed hands via the claimbox there with a combined value of $226,000 and an average of $11,894. Both the number and gross value were the region’s highest, while the average trailed only that of Pimlico, where, because of all the non-claiming races surrounding the Preakness, a mere five claims totaled $79,500 for an average of $15,900. Monmouth was the only track in the region besides Parx to see double-digit claims (10 claims). Charles Town and Penn National saw seven each, and Delaware had two.
The claimbox report covers claiming activity at Pimlico, Parx Racing, Penn National, Charles Town, Monmouth Park, and Delaware Park.
Weekly Dollar Value of Horses Changing Hands
