Well, today marked the conclusion of the Hawthorne race meet and we were not able to find another horse via the claim box. Clay is looking for horses that might be for sale by the trainers that remain at Hawthorne. He has also put a call in to a few people he knows around the country to see if they have something that would meet the needs of the Club.
He intends to ship his horses to Canterbury early this week. Once he settles in, we’ll go back to the barn to get some pictures and more information on Great Bam.
Stay tuned, more to come later in the week.
Canterbury Racing Club 
Don’t know if you would consider our input, but I noticed a horse that ran in Tapma Bay Downs 4th race on Saturday April 28. It seemed to fit the mold of the type horse your looking for. Its name is Prized Dream. It ran the $8000 claiming race and won. Seemed on paper to be very versitale.
Will – Thanks for the input. Always willing to take input and suggestions. There a couple of issues with this horse in specific. First, due to the fact it just won, the owner probably wouldn’t sell it for less than the $8K it was entered for. This, coupled with a shipping bill of $1,500 or more is a little expensive for this horse in particular. Second, now that it just won, it would be difficult to find a class level that it could be competitive at. It has lost eligibility for easier races due to the fact it now has three wins lifetime and one win this year.
I will be glad to go down to say Iowa or some other state to see first hand if there is a horse in any of the claiming races we should look at. Seeing as Clay will be rather busy training his stable after he gets up here. I will be glad to volunteer my time to do this for the club.
Jim – Appreciate the offer. Unfortunately, claiming from another state at this point will be tricky as almost all don’t allow you to leave the state for 30 days following the claim.
Too bad a horse claimed from another state has to wait 30 days to leave (why is that?) because I think there would be a potential claimer at Prairie Meadows on Saturday. Thunderbang (sire is Thunder Gulch) is entered in race 7 as a $7500 maiden claimer, just ran a close third in a 12,500 maiden claiming race. He made a nice charge in the deep stretch. Also light lightly raced three year old
Craig – Those rules are in place so that people don’t go to one state and take all the horses away to run somewhere else. It provides insurance to the racetrack that they won’t suffer from a horse shortage due to claims being taken out of the state.
I know you have explained the existance of a quasi conflict-of-interest with trying to put in a claim for our club during Canterbury’s live meet. But I was wondering if the horses are just beginning to fill Canterbury’s barns now and live racing still a few weeks away, is it acceptable to put feelers out to the barns for a $5-7k claimer type of horse for our club before racing begins?
Kaye – Just to be clear, we will claim at Canterbury if that is the only remaining option. It’s just not ideal. We will continue to ask around to see if anyone has a horse we can buy privately, both here and elsewhere. We’ll figure out a solution!
Any comment on the ny times article about claiming horses at aqueduct and penn national.
I think it ran on Monday.
The Minnesota Racing Commission and its vet staff has always been proactive and their primary concern is the safety of both the horses and the people that work with them. When the NTRA Safety and Integrity Alliance came to Shakopee to analyze Canterbury for safety accreditation, they found that Canterbury and the Minnesota Racing Commission were already exceeding many of the suggested best practices. Since that time, Canterbury and the Racing Commission have continued to implement measures that are designed to protect the horse and the people that work with them.
There is risk in any athletic event, but that does not mean that we do not strive for perfection. No horse has raced at Canterbury without a pre-race vet exam. That is something that has put Minnesota ahead of the curve.
We have rules and regulations place that this state should be proud.
Thanks for the reply. I wasn’t doubting the integrity of Canterbury , which I believe is beyond reproach. I wanted to know your thoughts on how prevalent this is, where it’s happening now and where it’s most likely to happen. To me it sounds like any owner who takes care of their horses and takes them to a meet is going to lose them fast to claims. Am I wrong ?
I would say that we agree to an extent. Take a look at how difficult it has been for us to claim a second horse at Hawthorne. There is a demand for horses that are sharp and look like they can remain consistent. Horses that are well cared for and look like they can perform are always in demand if offered for the right price.
There hasn’t been much claiming at Canterbury in recent years because many horses haven’t been offered for the right price. Horses have predominately been running for a claiming price at Canterbury above their value. However, that trend can change in a hurry when purses change, claiming prices change or a group that is interested in the claiming game gets involved in the racing.
Thus, in short, yes and no. Horses will be claimed if well cared for and entered at a price which others view as value. The beauty of the system is that the owner/trainer gets to pick the race they enter in and therefore the claiming price they want to run for. Therefore, in a way, they also control the likelihood of their horse getting claimed. There are a significant number of horses that are well cared for that are never claimed.
As to the New York Times article, I think that it took a bad situation in New Mexico and attempted to paint the entire industry with a broad brush. The article that was published was very questionable in its analytical approach. However, the industry as a whole needs to learn from it and continue to do things that improve the safety of both the humans and horses involved. We’ll continue to work with our Racing Commission to do that in Minnesota and we expect others in the industry to do the same with their respective commissions.
a horse, a horse; my kingdom for a horse.
Love it!
Anyone checked to see what Crown the Cat or Tahitian Queen are up to? CTC may be bored up in Monticello and have an itch to get back on the track. Only half kidding…..
I actually saw Crown the Cat last week. She looks good and enjoying her stay in Monticello. I am a club member from Big Lake, just a few miles away from where she is. I’m not sure if she is with foal yet, but I know that was the intent.
Awesome!
Curt! Was that you I saw at Dove HIll with the 21 yoa mare and filly? I haven’t heard if CtC is bred yet. I was actually thinking of “donating” her to the Club to run again at Canterbury this meet if she doesn’t get bred but I’m afraid of losing her in a claiming race! She would need a tune up if she was going to race this year as she’s gained about 100 pounds. Kathy Young
Kathy, No I’m sorry to say that I wasn’t at Dove Hill, We recently bought some plants at Dan and Jerry’s Nursery and I was aware that you were located very near there. I drove by and believe I saw Crown the Cat in his Paddock area. Is she headed for the breeding barn?
Curt
Yeah, I’m right by Dan & Jerry’s. We took Crown the Cat to Dove HIll to be bred to Matt’s Broken Vow on April 29th. So far she hasn’t had much luck with Matt down there. But we’ll keep trying!