by Frank Vespe
Claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic region remained stagnant in February, an analysis of Equibase statistics shows. With Parx Racing’s season opening delayed until the very end of the month, and with Laurel Park closed for the second half of the month, claiming activity regionwide was down substantially versus February 2015 and was lower even than the sluggish activity of January.
Overall, 105 horses changed hands via the claimbox last month. That was 27 percent below the 145 that changed hands during February 2015 and even a bit below the 114 that were claimed in January. The total value of claimed horses was $1,007,000 — a 33 percent drop from the prior year’s February and 14 percent below January’s figure. The average value of a claimed horse was $9,590.
Parx Racing’s closure continued to be a significant issue driving the decline in claiming activity. Though trainers there made up for lost time, claiming 17 horses in the three days of live racing that took place in February, that still was far below a typical month in Bensalem. Additionally, Laurel Park closed for three weeks following its Presidents Day card, eliminating as many as eight cards the track might have run and reducing activity from 77 claims in January.
Laurel Park led the region in claiming activity in February. The central Maryland track saw 53 horses claimed — fully half of the region’s total claiming activity — for a gross value of $647,000. The track’s average claim, of $12,208, was also highest in the region. Penn National, with 26 claims, was next on the list, followed by Parx Racing (17) and Charles Town, with nine. Penn National had the second highest gross value of claims, at $164,500, while Parx Racing’s average claim of $7,559 was the region’s second highest.
The January claimbox report covers claiming activity at Parx Racing, Penn National, Laurel Park, and Charles Town Races.
CLAIMING TRAINERS FOR THE MONTH
[su_row] [su_column]Who’s claiming horses- Jamie Ness — 6 claims for $63,000.00
- Daniel Velazquez — 5 claims for $68,500.00
- Tim Kreiser — 5 claims for $43,000.00
- Hugh McMahon — 4 claims for $66,000.00
- Kieron Magee — 4 claims for $42,500.00
- Jay Bernardini — 3 claims for $61,000.00
- Ollie Figgins — 3 claims for $35,000.00[/su_column]
- Kieron Magee — 6 lost for $59,500.00
- Gerald Brooks — 5 lost for $43,000.00
- Michael Gorham — 3 lost for $32,000.00
- Ferris Allen — 3 lost for $22,000.00
- Brandon Kulp — 3 lost for $20,500.00
- Mario Serey — 3 lost for $18,750.00
- Michael Trombetta — 2 lost for$56,000.00
Overall 66 trainers claimed at least one horse during the month, while 76 had one or more claimed away.
CLAIMING TRAINERS YEAR-TO-DATE
RANK | TRAINER | CLAIMS | VALUE OF CLAIMS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Magee, Kieron | 14 | $129,750.00 |
| 2 | Ness, Jamie | 12 | $121,500.00 |
| 3 | McMahon, Hugh I. | 11 | $167,000.00 |
| 4 | Velazquez, Daniel | 9 | $114,500.00 |
| 5 | Gonzalez, Claudio A. | 7 | $94,500.00 |
| 6 | Kreiser, Timothy C. | 7 | $56,750.00 |
| 7 | Trombetta, Michael J. | 5 | $63,000.00 |
| 8 | Potts, Wayne | 5 | $54,000.00 |
| 9 | Lake, Scott A. | 5 | $49,750.00 |
| 10 | Brooks, Gerald E. | 4 | $48,000.00 |
| 11 | Bernardini, Jay P. | 3 | $61,000.00 |
| 12 | Wolfendale, Howard E. | 3 | $46,000.00 |
| 13 | Figgins, III, Ollie L. | 3 | $35,000.00 |
| 14 | Capuano, Dale | 3 | $31,000.00 |
| 15 | Kulp, Brandon L. | 3 | $26,750.00 |
| 16 | Cartagena, Keisy | 3 | $26,500.00 |
| 17 | Hartsell, Jr., John J. | 3 | $24,500.00 |
| 18 | Stites, Flint W. | 3 | $17,500.00 |
| 19 | Wilhelm-Saldana, Jennie | 3 | $17,500.00 |
| 20 | Iannotti, IV, Thomas | 3 | $16,500.00 |
| 21 | Allen, III, A. Ferris | 2 | $55,000.00 |
| 22 | Eppler, Mary E. | 2 | $47,000.00 |
| 23 | Aguirre, Anthony | 2 | $34,000.00 |
| 24 | Juarez, Calixto | 2 | $20,500.00 |
| 25 | Stickler, Jr., Lester J. | 2 | $19,000.00 |
| 26 | Sillaman, Richard P. | 2 | $17,500.00 |
| 27 | Shuman, Mark | 2 | $16,000.00 |
| 28 | Serey, Jr., Mario | 2 | $15,000.00 |
| 29 | Pradenas, Sergio H. | 2 | $15,000.00 |
| 30 | Wyner, Harold | 2 | $15,000.00 |
| 31 | Pino, Michael V. | 2 | $15,000.00 |
| 32 | Demasi, Kathleen A. | 2 | $14,000.00 |
| 33 | Sinnefia, Paulina | 2 | $12,500.00 |
| 34 | Conner, John D. | 2 | $12,500.00 |
| 35 | Brown, Ronney W. | 2 | $11,250.00 |
| 36 | Rozell, Ron | 2 | $10,250.00 |
| 37 | Shea, Timothy H. | 2 | $10,250.00 |
| 38 | Reynolds, Joan A. | 2 | $10,000.00 |
| 39 | Maldonado, Jonathan | 2 | $9,750.00 |
| 40 | McClellan, Erin C. | 2 | $9,000.00 |
| 41 | Perri, Gina | 2 | $8,000.00 |
| 42 | Houghton, Dove P. | 1 | $35,000.00 |
| 43 | Servis, Blane | 1 | $25,000.00 |
| 44 | Salvaggio, Mark V. | 1 | $25,000.00 |
| 45 | Moore, Michael M. | 1 | $22,500.00 |
| 46 | Egan, Jason | 1 | $20,000.00 |
| 47 | Plummer, Bobby Lee | 1 | $20,000.00 |
| 48 | Keefe, Timothy L. | 1 | $16,000.00 |
| 49 | Fairlie, Scott H. | 1 | $16,000.00 |
| 50 | Zulueta, Marcos | 1 | $16,000.00 |
| 51 | Gaudet, Lacey | 1 | $16,000.00 |
| 52 | Farro, Patricia | 1 | $15,000.00 |
| 53 | Dilodovico, Damon R. | 1 | $15,000.00 |
| 54 | Merryman, Ann W. | 1 | $12,500.00 |
| 55 | Schoenthal, Phil | 1 | $12,500.00 |
| 56 | Albright, Amy | 1 | $12,500.00 |
| 57 | Adams, Douglas S. | 1 | $12,500.00 |
| 58 | Patterson, Kevin S. | 1 | $10,000.00 |
| 59 | Ayres, Jr., Joseph W. | 1 | $10,000.00 |
| 60 | Gamber, Robert E. | 1 | $10,000.00 |
| 61 | Gaudet, Linda S. | 1 | $10,000.00 |
| 62 | McGuire, James D. | 1 | $8,000.00 |
| 63 | Lingenfelter, Thomas H. | 1 | $8,000.00 |
| 64 | Zimmerman, Matthew John | 1 | $8,000.00 |
| 65 | Beattie, Cody | 1 | $8,000.00 |
| 66 | Barth, Calvin | 1 | $8,000.00 |
| 67 | Vera, Miguel | 1 | $7,500.00 |
| 68 | Preciado, Ramon | 1 | $7,500.00 |
| 69 | Kantarmaci, Mertkan | 1 | $7,500.00 |
| 70 | Penaloza, Miguel | 1 | $7,500.00 |
| 71 | West, Benjamin F. | 1 | $7,500.00 |
| 72 | Vargas, Jorge A. | 1 | $7,000.00 |
| 73 | Nunn, Douglas | 1 | $6,250.00 |
| 74 | Mosco, Robert | 1 | $6,250.00 |
| 75 | Mick, Stephen R. | 1 | $6,250.00 |
| 76 | Garibay, Lucia | 1 | $6,250.00 |
| 77 | McKenna, Todd | 1 | $6,250.00 |
| 78 | Tuomisto, Clifford | 1 | $6,250.00 |
| 79 | Burton, Tim | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 80 | Albright, George R. | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 81 | Chircop, Steven | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 82 | Boykins, Kevin | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 83 | Voss, Katharine M. | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 84 | Worton, Dorothy Elisabeth | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 85 | Houghton, T. Bernard | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 86 | Neilson, Katherine | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 87 | McMahon, W. Thomas | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 88 | Mancilla, Carlos A. | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 89 | Rappaport, Mitchell | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 90 | Sacco, Gregory D. | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 91 | Farrior, Anthony | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 92 | Hollahan, Heather | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 93 | Salzman, Timothy E. | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 94 | Lynch, Cathal A. | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 95 | Guerrero, J. Guadalupe | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 96 | Gorham, Michael E. | 1 | $5,000.00 |
| 97 | Cornwell, Jr., James L. | 1 | $4,500.00 |
| 98 | Daniels, Patrick B. | 1 | $4,500.00 |
| 99 | Davis, Samuel G. | 1 | $4,500.00 |
| 100 | Allen, Jeffrey S. | 1 | $4,500.00 |
| 101 | Kopp, Glenn | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 102 | Pearce, Penny | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 103 | Lawrence, II, James L. | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 104 | Vick, Timothy M. | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 105 | Kravets, Bruce M. | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 106 | Geist, David W. | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 107 | Graci, Kimberly A | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 108 | Salvaggio, Jr., Michael W. | 1 | $4,000.00 |
| 109 | Pessanha, Ney | 1 | $4,000.00 |
