Tag Archives: Claiming Series

Racing Stable Update

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Thanks for your patience on the Friday update. Here’s an overview of the Racing Club stable.

Clay has had a good chance to look over High Spirit. He thinks that he will run his race if given the proper pace to run at. When Jeff and I spoke with him yesterday, he thought that High Spirit is about 10-14 days away from his next race which would put us somewhere close to the end of July. The plan is that it will be a turf race and, assuming he comes back at the same level, those races haven’t been too difficult to fill. He’s continued with a fairly regular training routine since the race so let’s hope that a little rest and a faster pace have him ready for a top effort!

The plan with Lovely Tak is to enter her tomorrow in a $3,500 N2Y race going 6 and 1/2 furlongs. If the race goes, it would be used on Thursday. Not sure what to expect as far as entries for this level, so we’ll have to play it by ear to see if the race is used or not.

After talking with Clay, we all came to the conclusion that she probably can’t win the Claiming Series Final on August 2. The track has favored speed so much that it isn’t likely she’ll be well suited to go the 5 and 1/2 furlongs in the final against the likes of Boneafide Cat, Gracias, etc. Therefore, we’re going to see what happens with the race tomorrow as we think that would be a good spot for her. The extra distance will only help her run down the leaders.

In addition, there have been a couple of people asking about whether she might be for sale. At this point, we haven’t received any offers but as an owner you always have to listen if someone is talking.

Great Bam continues to train. He had a new glue-on shoe put in place earlier this week and the hoof continues to grow out. Clay still doesn’t have an estimate of when a race may be possible, but he does look good. Hopefully, the hoof will continue to heal and we’ll get that guy back to the races soon.

We’ll keep tabs on entries tomorrow and will let you know what happens! Thanks again for your patience today.

Lovely Tak Runs Fourth

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Lovely Tak ran in tonight’s opener finishing fourth. She simply wasn’t able to overcome the speed bias and Boneafide Cat. That being said, she did run markedly better than she did last time out only beaten by 2 and 1/2 lengths this time around.

We’ll have to see how she comes out of the race before deciding on where to run her next. Obviously, the Claiming Series Final would be an option; however, she would have to improve to beat that group. Another option would be to bring her back in a different claiming race. We’ll discuss this with Clay when we find out how she is doing.

Thanks to everyone that came out tonight. Hope you enjoyed the evening at the races!

Lovely Tak Entered – Faces Familiar Foes

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As you have likely already found out, Lovely Tak was entered in tomorrow’s first race of the evening. The final Claiming Series Qualifying Races for Fillies and Mares. Nik Goodwin will ride and the race is scheduled for 7:07PM.

She faces five others in a field of six including Downerbythemeadow – now owned by Zephyr Racing Stable and trained by Valorie Lund. Overall, she has 2 points in the 2012 Claiming Series and she will be one of only six horses to have run in enough qualifying races to be eligible for the $25,000 Final on August 2nd. Obviously, let’s take one thing at a time.

Last names starting with M through Z are eligible for the paddock tomorrow night. Plan on being in front of the paddock no later than 6:45 if you want to get in.

Jeff and Andrew have a pretty full night with the hot tub show and summer school. Molly will be around to help guide everyone through the paddock process and Jeff will join the group shortly after the hot tub show concludes.

We have some space in Silks (main level to the left of the winner’s circle) for the group to congregate afterward to enjoy the remainder of the races.

Post any questions or comments here. Otherwise, let’s hope for a good trip!

Where Are They Now?

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After so many different twists and turns in the claiming ranks, we thought it was time to take a look and see how all of the horses we have either claimed, or attempted to claim, are performing. Here’s a little update on all of the prospects:

Great Bam: Obviously, you’re familiar with this guy. The first horse we attempted to claim, we won a shake for him. Clay has him walking the shed row daily at this point and hopes to have in back in training soon.

Smokin Silver: The second horse we attempted to claim, we lost a shake for Smokin Silver. He has raced three times since the claim, an allowance race at Fairmont Park and two $5,000 claiming races at Prairie Meadows. He has one third place finish from those three starts and was claimed last time out by Mike Bolinger from trainer James Watkins. Hard to know what he could have done here but at the very least he would have been a great horse for the Claiming Series.

Abuela Emma: We lost another shake for Abuela Emma. Another horse that was taken down to Fairmont Park, she has run in an allowance race and a claiming race following the claim with one third place finish.

Rare Action: As far as wins and losses go, Rare Action has done the best following our failed claim attempt. Also running at Fairmont Park, Rare Action finished second in a starter handicap, then won a starter allowance and most recently ran third in a starter allowance. She’s another one that, at the very least, would have fit well in the Claiming Series races here.

Hammer’s Bullet: We attempted to claim this guy for $5,000 over at Churchill on a day where he encountered some trouble and ran a non-threatening fourth. He came back on June 14 for $7,500 and ran second. He is entered on Saturday at Churchill in the seventh race which will go about 8:35PM Central.

Downerbythemeadow: We were successful in claiming Downerbythemeadow on May 25. She came back to run second for the group on June 8 and was subsequently claimed away from us by Valorie Lund. She is now entered in a state-bred allowance race on Saturday. Will be interesting to see how she performs.

Lovely Tak: Claimed out of the first Claiming Series race for fillies and mares, Clay is training her up to the third qualifying race on July 12. Hopefully, she’ll be ready to put in a good effort for the club two weeks from today.

King of Rhythm: Scratched at the gate last weekend, we’ll have to see where he comes back. Maybe he’ll be entered back in next Thursday’s Claiming Series for colts and geldings? We will see…

It’s not really possible to draw any conclusions from this information as one would never be able to know how things would have turned out with a different trainer, different surroundings, etc. However, it is interesting to see what path some of these horses have taken following our interest in them.

Racing Club Update with May Bills & Info on a New Horse

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As a few of you have mentioned, Clay did claim a horse for the Club tonight out of the Claiming Series Race (Lovely Tak). Lovely Tak ran sixth and doesn’t really appear to have an affinity for mud as she has never performed well in it during her career.

The hope is to run her back as the Claiming Series continues. For those that have not read up on the Claiming Series, it gives you a chance to run your $3,500 horse for a $25,000 purse. More information is available on the Claiming Series here.

Jeff and I will go back to the barn in the coming days and find out a little more about Lovely Tak and about how she came out of the race.

Racing Has its Ups and Downs

As we’ve tried to explain to you all throughout this journey, racing is a roller coaster ride. Unfortunately, earlier today, Clay called to tell us that Great Bam’s quarter crack was worse than anticipated and that it will require special treatment, stall rest and protective bandaging.

Obviously, this is not the news that we wanted to hear. Clay and the farrier believe that this issue will require 3-4 weeks to fully heal before he can resume training. Therefore, we’re likely looking at August before Bam may be able to race.

We’ll continue talking to Clay to find out the plans and the progress that Bam is making. He was very disappointed when he gave us this news as he was expecting this horse to run big here this summer.

Canterbury Racing Club Financial Update

Next, here’s an update on the Club’s finances through May (less vet expenses):

Cash Balance at the end of April is $34,856.45

Less the following expenses:

Thyroid Treatment & Phenylbutazone (Great Bam) – $60

Shipping (Great Bam from Chicago to MN) – $350

Farrier (Great Bam) – $120

May Training (Great Bam) – $1,860 (31 days at $60 per day)

Claim of Downerbythemeadow – $3,500

May Training (Downerbythemeadow) – $360

May Dental Work (Downerbythemeadow) – $85

Cash Balance on May 31 – $28,466.45

Remember, this doesn’t really reflect the current state of the account it only deals with where were at on May 31. We have collected $3,500 for the claim of Downerbythemeadow plus more than $2,400  in revenue for the second place finish on June 8. Plus, there are vet bills to pay for May.

The revenue will be realized when we walk you through this information for June.

Obviously, there is a lot of information to digest in here. Please post questions and comments if you have them.

June 12 Racing Club Update

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As a few of you have mentioned, Great Bam did work out this morning. He went five furlongs in 1:03 and 1/5 which was ranked 8/8 at the distance.

Clay reported that he noticed a small quarter crack on one of Great Bam’s hooves after the conclusion of the workout. A quarter crack is a crack in the side wall of the hoof. When detected early is can usually be fixed relatively easily through the application of an acrylic patch.

For those that were in the group last year, Crown the Cat dealt with something similar and didn’t have any problems continuing to run throughout the summer. Clay plans on having the farrier come over in the morning to determine the best way to patch it up and, at this time, doesn’t believe it will impact his plans for Bam to race within the next week or so.

As of now, the plan is to get the new Condition Book when it comes out later this week and point Bam toward the next race he fits in. Hopefully, that means he’ll have a race within the next 7-10 days.

Where to Find Another Horse?

There have been a lot of inquires as to where to find the next horse. At this point, we are looking at claiming a horse out of the Claiming Series races. The claiming series is an opportunity for $3,500 claiming horses to run for a $25,000 purse in early August. The first one of these races takes place on Thursday night (Race 6).

Click here to learn more about the Claiming Series.

If you really want to get into the details of the Claiming Series, full rules can be found here.

Per usual, please send in a comment if you have questions.