North American Trainer - August to October 2015 - issue 37

Page 56

RACING

THE CLAIM GAME

At any level, claiming a horse is like rolling dice. You’re never sure what you’re going to get. “Owning a horse is a gamble, period,” trainer Linda Rice said. She’s got a point. Claiming horses would be a whole lot easier for owners and trainers if there were national rules and regulations that applied to every racing jurisdiction in the United States. Instead, just as with medication, horsemen must follow each individual state’s rules even though they race their horses in more than one state. WORDS: BILL HELLER PHOTOS: HORSEPHOTOS

54

TRAINERMAGAZINE.COM ISSUE 37

M

OST states prohibit a claimed horse from racing in another state until the present meet concludes and/or for a specified time. But that could change. A Kentucky lawsuit challenging that regulation, commonly known as the jail rule, has advanced to the Kentucky Supreme Court. Jerry Jamgotchian, who lives in California, sued the Kentucky Horse Racing Commission in May of 2011 for its rule prohibiting a horse claimed in Kentucky from racing out of state until that meet concludes. After he made a claim at Churchill Downs, he attempted to enter the horse at Penn National and at other tracks outside of Kentucky before the Churchill meet finished. Most states also mandate that a claimed horse must make his first post-claim start for a price at least 25 percent higher than the figure he was claimed for. There are exceptions. In California, a horse who wins the race he was claimed in must jump up at least 25 percent, but a claimed


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
North American Trainer - August to October 2015 - issue 37 by Trainer Magazine - Issuu