Claiming Ethics

[Equus Caballus]

Never said a word. Also, you only claim a horse you think you can improve -- so why would you claim off a friend or someone you respect.

I’ve never claimed a horse with the expectation of improving them. Sometimes it happens , sometimes it doesn’t

If someone thinks they are gonna improve them 100% of the time , they’d outta be broke by now

[Fuguzzi]

Very, very rarely is there a horse worth claiming at Monticello these days.

Absolutely true. Bottom of the barrel. I consider it the worst pari mutuel track in the nation, BUT, it is a good place to bet interestingly.

[JIDGE]

I’ve never claimed a horse with the expectation of improving them. Sometimes it happens , sometimes it doesn’t

If someone thinks they are gonna improve them 100% of the time , they’d outta be broke by now

Never heard a horseman say that before. Then why do you claim a horse or buy a horse if you don't think you can improve them?  I'm not saying it works all the time, I'm saying that's always the intent.  eg. I can change his shoes, I can add a Murphy blind, he needs a longer toe, an open bridle, etc. etc.  Why in the world would you claim a horse you think you can't improve? 

[theokodjak26]

It is a bit crazy how Monticello’s handle per race is only exceeded on the east coast by the Meadowlands. The place is a total dump. I would say 75% of the horses are not worth much. And like most half mile ovals there is very little closing from behind. Post positions 6,7,8 perform so terribly vs 1-5. So knowing that 47% favs win it becomes tough to win any real money. All this being said, their handle greatly outperforms most harness tracks by a lot. Not everything in life is explainable.

[Fuguzzi]

I’ve never claimed a horse with the expectation of improving them. Sometimes it happens , sometimes it doesn’t

If someone thinks they are gonna improve them 100% of the time , they’d outta be broke by now

Well, I certainly anticipated improving them, but of course not 1005 of the time. that's completely unrealistic. I often expected improvement because i tried to get in low as a horse was struggling for a weak trainer. I especially liked mares since there are fewer of them and you often found yourself in with 4 or 5 of the same horses week in and week out.

[Equus Caballus]

Never heard a horseman say that before. Then why do you claim a horse or buy a horse if you don't think you can improve them?  I'm not saying it works all the time, I'm saying that's always the intent.  eg. I can change his shoes, I can add a Murphy blind, he needs a longer toe, an open bridle, etc. etc.  Why in the world would you claim a horse you think you can't improve?

There are plenty of tagged horses out there that are cash flow positive

Everyone has their own reasons to claim I suppose
But mine would be to claim a horse that stays ahead of expenses for the month in whatever spot they are competitive in
And if you think they are good enough for the next spot up, that’s just a bonus

[hoosierboy]

If you don’t want horse claimed don’t put in claimers

[Parked]

Race secretaries love claimers.  No work for them. Just line them up.worst thing that has ever happened was when they started putting claimers in with conditioned horses.  I recently saw a track with 3 divisions of a cond/claim race with an ae claimers. There were enough claimers for a full race. 

[Chips N Salsa]

Never once have I claimed a horse that I didn't think could be helped in some way shape or form with the exception of this.  If a very good trainer claimed a horse and did a ton of vet work and changed shoes and trimmed feet I would go right in a claim the next week.  Why not get the free vet work and shoes? LOL

As for claiming etiquette - when someone put's there horse in for a tag, they are giving the whole world permission to buy that horse for said price.  I don't care if my best friend put's a 50k claimer in for 20K and I know for fact he jamming him in, I'll claim.  That's part of being on top of the game.  I would expect the same thing if I tried it.  I have never ever been pissed when I had one claimed off me.  If I like them I will go back the next week and claim right back.

[Dingus]

The Meadows has many, many conditioned claimers for limited winners.  The claiming prices are inflated compared to the actual value of the horse, hence, there are very few claims from those races, yet, I bet, many owners wished their horses got claimed from those races.

[The Exporter]

I loved the claiming game. But, you need a mindset that is often in conflict with others. I also loved claiming off trainers that others would not. I saw early on many of the so called "sharp guys " were not that way at all. It was others who judged them that way. Most sharpies would jam a clean piece week after week, taking full advantage of this false fear others had .
 There was one man at Saratoga who was king of the claimers for a couple years. Week in and week out he did whatever he wanted. I claimed 5 from him and all went forward. We often lost one after a couple starts because the fear of him claiming your whole barn was now gone.
 Even after that, nobody claimed from him. Reputations stay longer than deserved , sometimes.

[Fuguzzi]

I loved the claiming game. But, you need a mindset that is often in conflict with others. I also loved claiming off trainers that others would not. I saw early on many of the so called "sharp guys " were not that way at all. It was others who judged them that way. Most sharpies would jam a clean piece week after week, taking full advantage of this false fear others had .
 There was one man at Saratoga who was king of the claimers for a couple years. Week in and week out he did whatever he wanted. I claimed 5 from him and all went forward. We often lost one after a couple starts because the fear of him claiming your whole barn was now gone.
 Even after that, nobody claimed from him. Reputations stay longer than deserved , sometimes.

Ny Metro racing in the glory days. Virtually all of the sharp trainers were off my radar as far as claiming from them.
Larry Summer, Perry Steinkhol, Ray Flis, Rejean Daigneault, Lou Meittinis, etc - all definitly no nos. I looked for second and third tier trainers who were languishing with formerly classy horses and had dropped in price. Unlike life, in horse racing you CAN buy class

[JIDGE]

Half the races at all tracks should be claimers. It's the best way to bring in new owners. Claim one -- watch him race the next week. And I don't mean these N/W inflated price claimers. Just straight claimers.

[Generation XYZ]

Half the races at all tracks should be claimers. It's the best way to bring in new owners. Claim one -- watch him race the next week. And I don't mean these N/W inflated price claimers. Just straight claimers.

That I can agree with. Look at TB's that average about 5 claimers or optional claimers per card. they have NO SHORTAGE of new owner interest.

[7minuteAbz]

Drivers will often direct their friends to claim certain horses that they have sat behind. I'm not saying this is bad, it makes total sense.