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Learning to Love the Claim Game - Part 1
Original article written by Meg Molin posted 10 years 3 weeks agoWelcome back! As always, I've been asking the dumb questions so you don't have to! Now that you're settled in your office, and have some horses in your barn, I figured we'd wander down trackside and watch a few races... no, they're nothing special... just a few $500 claiming races, but it's still exciting if you own one of the horses running!
I started out daydreaming of finding that 'diamond in the rough' on the sales page my first day out... the horse that was SO OBVIOUSLY mis-understood that I'd be able to go for the big stakes money right off. But I have to say that just a few weeks in, with my stable full of claiming runners, and misfit geldings... I rather like it. It's homey. It's a barn full of no-nonsense runners, the honest working-man of the racing world, and I'm okay with that for now. I'm going to pass along some words of wisdom from my mentors, and from various other sources that really worked for me. So put on some gloves, and let's get ready to WORK!
First off, you have to GET some claimers. If you're nice, and introduce yourself on the forums, people will generally help you out. Most have a claimer or two (that can run) clogging up their stable yard, and they don't mind sending them along. More often though, it's a look through the sales pages as your first stop. Look for horses that (again) are racing on wrong surfaces. Look at workout times - even if the horse is bred for turf, they may have a really good workout on dirt. Sometimes it's worth that $1 (or e-mailing AJ for the horse for free) to attempt to run that horse on another surface if you have a hunch. Heck. I bought horses that other people thought were washed up (*cough* really old geldings. *cough) but still looked like they'd run for some money - plus, who is going to claim an 8 year old gelding away from you?! No one. ;). Look for horses that have placed 3rd or 4th in a higher claiming race that could be dropped down a level to win. Even if it's down to $5,000, or $500. A win is a win.
AJ also has a sale at the end of the year. Other people have suggested picking up horses at the sale for $100. Turn them around and run them in a $500 claiming race. Hope they win. If they win - you get money. If they get claimed? You make money. Try to see claimers as a string of semi-disposable income... sometimes losing a horse is just part of the game, you just want to make sure you make some money on them if they leave!
Here is an important point, once you've bought a few: these horses NEED all the advantage they can get. Vet them. Spend the points to figure out equipment. Be meticulous. Look at pedigrees. Pay Merry Weather to tell you about surface preference. DO IT. You're in the claim game to win. I spent a lot of game points my first week sorting through equipment. It made a big difference.
My first claiming purchase (for $1000) ended up turning back $2500 with a second place only days after I bought her. I moved her up a claiming class, and we'll see how she does (she's only 2, so hopefully it's up from here!). And with 10 runs, I've hit the board 33% of the time now, and 2 5ths that at least earned me a few hundred dollars.
Stick to Alaska (at first). There are claiming races other places, but once you have your horses, run them at Trial Park, or in Canada or Alaska. Not only will your horses be in one spot (remembering to ship can be SO TOUGH), but you can get to know who is running there, and watch some of the higher claiming races for nice horses that are dropped down from stakes ranks. Plus, you're more likely to win up there. So THAT'S nice! Stay away from KY, NY, FL, and CA for a bit. A lot of the nicer horses run there. First off, your goal is to WIN SOME MONEY.
If a horse doesn't do well in the $10,000 claimers, drop them down. Again, make sure they're resting (at a farm if you can swing it financially) between races, make sure they have their equipment. Make sure to enter races as specific to your horse as possible. Maiden for 3y.o. is going to be a narrower field than Maiden for 3 y.o. and up. Wait until the deadline for race entries, and look with races that have 4 or less horses in them (5th at least typically gives you SOMETHING, even if it's $250.)
I think all of my dumb questions about the claiming game have lead me to one conclusion: since claiming isn't about a surplus of money, it's about taking the TIME to do it well. New Players often have more time than money, so I say it's a match made in Alaska! Next time we'll wander down to the race office and shmooze with some of the owners there, and see if we can't get ourselves some true diamonds in the rough.