Expert: Stephanie Frost - 9/6/2009

Question
I have read your answer on claiming races but still think I'm missing something (since I know NOTHING about horse racing). Is it less expensive to run in a claiming race compared to other types of races (lower fee?)? Or is it usually the worst horses in the industry in a claiming race? Each win must increase the horse's value so I understand someone wanting their horse to win. And, if they believe their horse is significantly better than the field but untested, I get running the horse to confirm it's abilities and win the purse. But why are all the other horses running in this type of race, specifically? I mean, I guess I don't see the point of a race setup specifically so every horse is for sale vs other types of races - again I have no real understanding of how all these races work.

Answer
Andrea,

There are no fees to run in a claiming race, other than paying your jockey.  The only races that require a fee to be paid are stakes races.  But purse money varies by the type of race, so the lower the claiming tag, generally the lower the available purse.
Claiming races are just a way of keeping the playing field level for all types of horses.  For instance, if you own "Slow Sally", wouldn't you rather have her running against "Turtle Ted" and "lazy Larry", than against "Rocket Randy"? If all races were open to all horses, then the better horses would get all of the money, and the slower horses would never have a shot at winning.
By putting a horse in for a tag, you are basically putting a price on that horse.  Nobody is likely to run a horse that is able to win for a $30,000 tag (and the higher purse amount), for a $5000 tag (and the lower purse amount), since they would likely lose the horse for the $5000.  Even if he won the purse as well, the horse is far more valuable than what he;d have earned.

Claiming is very complicated, and I apologize for not being able to explain it in depth.  But hopefully my answer helped, if only a little bit.

Stephanie Frost