Condition levels within claiming races

Because claiming races cover a large category of horses, racetrack offices write conditions within claiming races to equalize the competition while trying to draw full fields of competitive horses.

For example, say at a small racetrack a horse breaks its maiden for a maidenclaiming $12,500 tag. If the horse's next start against winners is in an open (unrestricted)-claiming $10,000 race, it may get beat badly, and here's why. In an open-claiming $10,000 race, the maiden graduate may face veteran horses that have won two, four, six, or even more career starts and are much more advanced.

To remedy this, the racing secretary writes a condition claiming race to give the young horse a chance against its own kind. The horse in this example is better suited for a claiming $10,000 non-winners of two races lifetime condition. That means the horse faces other horses that have also won only one race in their life - their maiden win. That's a perfect example how a racing secretary writes races to create parity and attract competitive fields.

The various kinds of conditions you see in claiming races are for non-winners of two, three, and four races in a lifetime. Another kind of condition is non winners of a race ina year, six months, or some other time frame determined by the racing secretary.

Read the conditions of a race very carefully. Some horses fit the condition perfectly, and some don't, so think about why certain horses are in a race. You may have to read between the lines by putting yourself in the trainers' shoes. Trainer intent is an important part of handicapping. For example, a shrewd trainer may like to run his claiming horse out of condition when it's ready to win to ensure higher odds. For more on trainer angles, which you need to understand to be a successful handicapper, see Chapter 8.

Moving Up in class-one of our favorite moves

When claiming horses perform well and win races, their trainers move them up the claiming ladder to higher price levels. A number of things can happen in this scenario:

A horse may peak quickly and then begin to lose form. The only way it remains competitive is to drop down again in class.

A horse may plateau and find a nice comfort level where it proves it belongs.

A horse may improve through the claiming ranks and move into allowance races

One of the strongest moves you see is when a top-class trainer double jumps the horse, meaning she moves the horse up two class levels because it's doing so well. The class rise may be within the claiming ranks, from claiming up to allowance, within allowance conditions, or a move up into a stakes race. In this move, you're bound to get good odds on the horse because the public perceives the animal to be outclassed. Quite the contrary. Betting on an animal in peak condition at a square price in a good spot is the right move. You don't cash every time, but the odds are high enough to be very profitable over the long haul.

Dropping in class -Warning sign?

When horses drop down dramatically in class, a red flag should go up indicating that something is physically wrong with the animal. These horses dropping down in class may not be doing well in training, may not be eating well, and may be going off form, meaning not running at peak efficiency.

If a horse owner claims this horse, he may get stuck with it for a while before it recovers. Sometimes horses like this don't bounce back, and owners get stuck with it forever and are out claiming money. As a horseplayer, if you bet on a drop down horse that doesn't run well, you lose your money.

If you see a $40,000 animal entered for a $10,000 claiming price, be suspicious.
Horsemen aren't in the business of giving their animals away for pennies on the dollar. You may want to pass on this horse, because the public usually overbets these kinds of horses, meaning the odds are way too low (also called an underlay).

Passing on favorites is okay, especially in the case of drop down claimers. A horse's win odds should reflect its real chances of winning. You get no value in this scenario, so you won't get hurt even if the horse wins.

If a horse that broke its maiden shows real promise, the preference is to skip the claiming races and move forward into non-selling races - races where the entrants can't be claimed. After all, the owner and trainer have a lot invested in each horse and want to protect that investment. Successful claiming horses can also move up to this level if their trainers and owners think they have a shot in this new category. The three categories of non-selling races are allowance, optional claiming, and starter allowance - allowance being the highest level within this category and starter allowance being the lowest.

Allowance races

After a horse wins a maiden special weight race it jumps up into an allowance race. The really nice, young horses strive to win through their conditions. In the first level, they try to win the second race of their career. In the second level, they try to win the third race of their career, and in third level allowance races, they go for the fourth win of their career. After they progress that far, they're ready for stakes competition

A good way to describe allowance races is to compare them to minor league baseball. A young ballplayer starts in a rookie league for his first taste of professional baseball. A baseball rookie is comparable to a maiden horse who has never won a race. He plays his way up the ladder, level by level to A, AA, and AM minor leagues. After he proves himself a polished prospect, he's ready to join the big club in the major leagues. The major leagues are comparable to stakes races. Racehorses need the same kind of development before they start running in stakes races. They learn good habits and learn how to compete by winning their way through their conditions.

The racing office writes lots of allowance races because it wants to graduate young horses up the pyramid and replenish stock (horses) at all competitive levels. The horses that don't make it to the top may slide back, but they're important nonetheless in the racetrack's overall racing program.

If a horse struggles to win and move up in allowance races, it may be forced to run in high claiming races where it can find its own level of competition

As a handicapper, you should read the conditions of races rather closely. Allowance races can be creatively written with certain horses in mind. For example, part of the condition may be for horses that haven't won a race since December 17. Then you look at each horse's past performance resume in the Daily Racing Form (see Chapter 11), and you find a horse that won a race on December 16. Eureka! You found a horse that fits the race condition perfectly. You can then surmise that the conditions of this allowance race were written with this horse in mind. Figure 2-1 gives an example of the conditions for an allowance race at Aqueduct.

Allowance race conditions, like this one, can be quite specific.

Alw 43000N1X Purse $43.000 (UP TO $8.120 NYSBFOA ) For Fillies Two Years Old Which Have Never Won A Race Other Than Maiden Or Claiming Or Which Have Never Won Two Races. Weight 1211bs. Non-winners Of A Race Since October 29 Allowed 2 Ibs. A race Allowed 4lbs.

Money allowance races are written for older horses that aren't quite stakes caliber or are stakes horses returning from a long layoff. A money allowance gives the older horses a chance to win without being exposed in a claiming race. A money allowance can draw a quality field and be close to the caliber of a stakes race. This is one more example of how a racing secretary uses eligibility requirements to write conditions for races to satisfy all of the horsemen at the racetrack. NEXT PAGE