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 August 26, 2014.
Claiming activity rose sharply last week, with some shuffling of the Midlantic Claiming 7 list of the trainers who have claimed the most horses over the last 30 days.
The name at the top of that list, however, is a familiar one. Patricia Farro led all trainers in the number of horses claimed and the value of those claims for the fourth consecutive week. She’s taken 12 in the last 30 days, with a combined value of $175,000 (average: $14,625). Jorge Navarro, with eight claims for a total of $124,000, was second in both categories, and the $15,500 average of his claims led all trainers.
Two newcomers joined the list, though both have been regulars on it over the last several months. Scott Lake, with seven claims for $73,500, checked in third on the list, and Kimberly Graci (five for $36,500) was seventh. They replaced Hugh McMahon and Philip Aristone.
Farro’s 12 claims over the last 30 days were offset by six claimed away, leaving her with a net gain of six; that was the region’s highest. Charles Cannon’s net gain of four was the second highest in the area.
Meanwhile, Kimberly Graci has lost seven horses via the claimbox over the last 30 days to lead all trainers. In terms of net loss, however, she trailed four trainers, all of whom had a net loss of four horses; that group included Ronald Dandy, Jennie Wilhelm-Saldana, Marya Montoya, and Jane Cibelli.
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For the week…
On the heels of one of the slowest weeks of claiming activity in recent months, the week ending August 26 turned out to be on the very short list of the busiest weeks recorded in the last year.
Spurred by a monster week at Parx Racing, 88 horses changed hands in the last week, with a combined value of $945,750. Both the number and total value were more than double that of the prior week (when 43 horses with a combined value of $420,000 changed hands). The average also rose, about 10 percent, to $10,747; and the median value was up one-third to $10,000.
Parx Racing recorded one of the region’s busiest-ever claiming weeks; trainers grabbed some 38 horses there in four days of racing, with a combined value of $428,500 (average: $11,276). That huge number was driven in large part by August 23, when 23 horses were claimed, including three different races with at least four claims from each. Penn National was second among tracks in the number of claims, with 18, while Monmouth had 17 and the highest average value of claims, at $14,206. Charles Town, Timonium, and Delaware had four, five, and six claims, respectively.
The claimbox report covers claiming activity at Parx Racing, Penn National, Charles Town, Monmouth Park, Timonium, and Delaware Park.
Weekly Dollar Value of Horses Changing Hands
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