Churchill Downs To Host 2024 Claiming Crown Event

Churchill Downs will host the 2024 Claiming Crown Nov. 16, the HBPA announced Thursday. The event, held at Fair Grounds last year, will return to Kentucky for the second time in three years. Created in 1999 by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association, the Claiming Crown provides claiming horses with a multi-race program to spotlight their importance.

“In a year when Churchill Downs celebrates the 150th [GI] Kentucky Derby, we are honored to host the Claiming Crown on center stage in the same historic venue,” said TOBA president Dan Metzger.

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Owner Wycoff Splashes Home With Two Wins On Rain-Soaked Claiming Crown Card

Owner Jordan Wycoff was victorious with his only two entrants on Saturday's Claiming Crown card, executing a similar strategy with both favored winners. Each had met their respective starter-allowance eligibility conditions by only once having raced at or below the required minimum claiming price. And both recently had been running against tough competition on the New York and Kentucky circuits before overpowering their fields at Fair Grounds in a rain-soaked renewal of the annual event nicknamed “the blue-collar Breeders' Cup.”

One of Wycoff's wins Dec. 2 was delivered by Money Supply (Practical Joke), who was so keen to score in the featured $200,000 Jewel at nine furlongs that the 2.8-1 shot broke through the gate prior to the start.

After being cleared to reload, the 4-year-old colt was a touch unsettled in the early stages. He got pelted with wet kickback while carving out an inside trip, brushed briefly when seeking room for a rally in mid-stretch, then opened up when cued to quicken between tiring leaders before extending fluidly under hand encouragement through the final sixteenth.

“He broke good and just kind of got shuffled back in there, but he was handling it well the whole time, and when we turned for home, I had a lot of horse,” said jockey Jareth Loveberry after the 1:52.05 win over nine furlongs.

A $400,000 KEESEP buy, Money Supply had never been in for a tag until previous connections Klaravich Stable and Chad Brown risked losing him for $35,000 on Aug. 20 at Saratoga. Money Supply won his N2L condition the day he was claimed by trainer Joe Sharp on behalf of Wycoff, and three subsequent allowance and/or starter races after that yielded one narrow defeat at Saratoga and two victories at Churchill Downs.

Sharp said he and Wycoff had “an epiphany” after the first of those two wins Sept. 27 that reminded them that having run for a $35,000 tag in 2022-23 meant that Money Supply was eligible for the Jewel.

“At that point, we started to target it,” Sharp said.

The result was a 1 3/4-length, going-away win in the premier Claiming Crown race.

The Claiming Crown, which began in 1999 as a way to showcase and reward horses who compete in the types of races that form the backbone of day-to-day American racing, is a partnership between the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association.

After initially starting at Canterbury Park while occasionally rotating among other tracks in its formative years, Gulfstream Park had evolved into the host track starting early in the 2010s decade.

But for 2022, the Claiming Crown switched sites to Churchill Downs, where a November snow wiped out last year's turf races. When the series got switched to the Fair Grounds (which last hosted in 2011) for the 2023 edition, Mother Nature followed with more nasty weather.

It rained so hard in New Orleans prior to Saturday's first post that track management opted to cancel the days first two (non-Claiming Crown) races, and an abandonment of the grass races was necessary for the second year in a row.

Maintenance crews worked the track to remove standing water, and after an additional 45-minute pushback to post time, Fair Grounds commenced the card with Race 3, the first of eight consecutive Claiming Crown races. The main track was sealed and sloppy throughout according to Equibase charts, although Fair Grounds announced on its broadcast feed that the main track would be rated “good” for the Jewel.

Anatolian | Hodges Photography

Wycoff's other Claiming Crown winner was Anatolian, a 4-year-old filly by Not This Time. She emerged as the strongest in a wall of late bidders (on a day when speed was not holding) to win the $150,000 Tiara for distaffers in a 1 1/16 miles off-the-turfer in 1:46.11.

Anatolian's win by 2 1/4 lengths as the 3-2 favorite was the 22nd lifetime Claiming Crown victory for trainer Mike Maker, who extended his record as the event's winningest conditioner. James Graham rode.

Anatolian met her $25,000 starter condition by only starting once that low, for a $16,000 tag when breaking her maiden back in 2022. Since then she has kept far higher company, and twice won off-the-turfers over 10 furlongs at Saratoga and Churchill as a lead-in to her Claiming Crown engagement.

Trainer Sharp also doubled on the program. The 5-1 Runway Magic (Runhappy) took the $150,000 Emerald, a 1 1/16 miles off-the-turfer, for owner Baron Racing Stables.

The 5-year-old hounded the pacemaker, took over midway on the far turn, then uncorked a long, steady drive to hold off a fresh challenger late to win by 1 1/2 lengths under Jaime Torres in 1:44.71.

Runway Magic was a former stakes competitor at age three but had swapped stables via the claim box four times since.

Claimed for $50,000 out of a 12th-place effort when previously trained by Sharp (but for a different owner) at Oaklawn Jan. 22, the gelding didn't resurface until nine months later for a $20,000 tag at Delta Downs. He ran sixth in that start, but Sharp, reclaiming with the backing of Baron Racing, gambled by taking Runway Magic back for the heavily discounted price.

That move paid off five weeks later with a next-start win in the Claiming Crown.

In the $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial that got washed off the grass at 5 1/2 furlongs, Mischievous Rogue (Into Mischief) closed widest with a well-timed burst to win by 3 1/2 lengths as the 17-10 favorite in 1:04.20 for owner Southern Comfort Stables, trainer William “Doug” Cowans, and jockey Luan Machado.

A 5-year-old gelding, Mischievous Rogue had spent the bulk of career (14 of 17 starts) racing on either turf or synthetic surfaces, and had never before raced on a wet track prior to showing a huge affinity for it with Saturday's convincing tally.

In the $100,000 Glass Slipper for fillies and mares at one mile, it was Chris Hartman trainees one-two across the wire with 5-year-old mare Xylophone (Tonalist) orchestrating a 3 3/4-length victory at 7-2 odds for owner Joseph Longtin and jockey Mitchell Murrill.

The 5-year-old mare circled the field and drove to the lead unopposed a furlong out, stopping the timer in 1:39.02.

Although a number of familiar names graced the Claiming Crown winner's circle in this year's renewal, the $100,000 Rapid Transit at six furlongs represented a big, breakthrough score for some less-heralded connections shipping in from FanDuel (formerly Fairmount Park).

Richiesonaroll (Gone Astray) prevailed by a neck at 15-1 odds in 1:10.64, lighting up the tote board as the Claiming Crown's highest-odds winner this year. The 3-year-old, three-time-claimed, Illinois-bred races for owner/trainer Jose G. Rodriguez, who has only been a licensed conditioner for 13 months.

The jockey for Richiesonaroll was Emmanuel (Manny) Giles, who had been badly injured in a three-horse spill at Hawthorne Race Course during his rookie season in 2021. Giles had to undergo several surgeries to repair hip and back damage, and missed 14 months of riding before getting back in the saddle earlier this season.

Caramel Chip | Hodges Photography

In the $75,000 Ready's Rocket Express at six furlongs, Caramel Chip (Midshipman) stalked from fourth and picked off the pacemakers with a three-wide swoop at top of lane to win by 3 1/2 lengths as the 2.3-1second choice in a 1:10.25 clocking.

Jose D'Angelo trains for Bianco Stable, with Florent Geroux riding.

It was the 10th lifetime victory for the 5-year-old horse, and his seventh on the season. Caramel Chip was claimed for $8,000 out of a Jan. 8 win at Gulfstream.

In the $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Sterling Memorial at 1 1/16 miles, the 11-10 favorite Time For Trouble (English Channel) wrested control in the final hundred yards and prevailed by a head in 1:46.17.

The 6-year-old gelding had started for an $8,000 claiming tag only once in his life, back in 2021. But that eligibility has enabled him to win back-to-back editions of the Iron Horse, both times over a sloppy surface.

Time For Trouble seemingly enjoyed a class edge on paper from running in Grade II and III stakes in Florida, Kentucky and New York earlier this season. Yet he made his connections, the partnership of Thorndale Stable and owner/trainer Jeff Hiles, sweat out a photo finish that was one of two wins on the day for jockey Graham.

“This is why we do what we do,” said Hiles. “Three-sixteenths pole, we thought we didn't have a shot. And the emotions that you experience that last three-sixteenths of a race, that's exactly why we're in this…The adrenaline that kicks in, the emotions–you can't buy it.”

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Claiming Crown: Just Getting a Horse There Can Be a Victory

Edited Press Release

Many of the trainers and owners running horses in Saturday's eight Claiming Crown races already won a critical competition before the starting gate even opens at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: They got the horse at the claim box.

With shrinking foal crops and enhanced purses in areas such as Kentucky, New York and Arkansas, there has never been more demand for a competitive claiming horse, the backbone of American racing. The Claiming Crown was created 25 years ago by the National Horsemen's Benevolent & Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners & Breeders of America (TOBA) to spotlight those horses with their own big-money day.

The 25th Claiming Crown–this year worth a total of $1 million and staged with support from the Louisiana HBPA–clearly has encouraged some owners to seek out horses with this day in mind.

“A lot of guys gear up for this day,” said trainer Robertino Diodoro, whose seven Claiming Crown entrants include three contenders for the $200,000 Jewel in Flying P Stable's Saqeel and Frosted Grace and Ken Ramsey's King's Ovation. “Two of my bigger guys, Flying P and Ken Ramsey, have had success at the Claiming Crown and just love it. Jason Provenzano has mentioned it to me at least once a week for four months about having Frosted Grace for the Claiming Crown. Flying P last winter would say, 'How about this horse (to claim)? He'd be eligible for the Claiming Crown next year.' It was nine or 11 months away, but it shows you how excited some of the owners are and how much pride they take in running in it.

“It's a big day and very important to a lot of owners. The blue-collar horses get to be the spotlight of the day and run for good money. You have to have blue-collar horses in this game, for sure, for spectators, owners and trainers. They're a big part of our game.”

Claiming a horse is one of the quickest and most effective ways to get new owners into the game–or to bring lapsed owners back. Claim a horse, and you could see it run back in your silks in a matter of weeks.

For example, owner Paul Parker and trainer/co-owner Jeff Hiles needed to win a 13-way shake to get Time for Trouble, the favorite in Saturday's $75,000 Ready's Rocket Express, for $8,000 on June 18, 2021 at Churchill Downs. He was one of five horses claimed out of the race. Time for Trouble has not run in another race since where he could be claimed, that includes winning last year's Ready's Rocket Express at Churchill Downs.

Starter-allowance races such as the Claiming Crown are restricted to horses that have started for a certain claiming price or cheaper in a specified time frame. But there is no claiming involved, making starter races attractive to those who don't want to risk losing their horse.

The complexities of the claiming game increase when horses' eligibility for starter races expires. If they're put in another claiming race to make them re-eligible for starter competition, there's a good chance they'll be claimed. On the other hand, horsemen need to run in spots where they can make money to stay in business. Running a horse over its head repeatedly just to hang on to it doesn't do the owner, trainer or the horse any good.

So it's one thing to claim a horse with the Claiming Crown in mind and another to still have it come Claiming Crown day.

Mike Maker, the all-time leading Claiming Crown trainer with 21 victories, and his fellow horsemen Diodoro, Chris Hartman and Joe Sharp are all over Saturday's Claiming Crown entries. Maker and Diodoro entered seven apiece, Sharp six and Hartman four.

Then there are all the horses racing Saturday that those guys used to train. Take Invaluable–and a lot of people did just that.

Now six, Invaluable won last year's Claiming Crown Glass Slipper for Maker but will start this year for Sharp, who claimed her two races ago. The Claiming Crown was only Invaluable's second start for Maker, who took the mare off Diodoro for $32,000 at Saratoga in a race where all four horses were claimed. The prior winter, Diodoro had taken Invaluable off Hartman for $30,000 at Oaklawn, a race in which five of eight starters changed hands.

“That one hurts,” Diodoro said of losing Invaluable, the 2022 National HBPA Claiming Horse of the Year. “I loved that mare. I didn't want to lose her. She's as honest as they come. We could have tried to hold her out for the Claiming Crown. But you get to Saratoga, the owners want to win, the purses are big. You can't just 'protect' these horses. You've got to run them where they can win–and there's a pretty good chance you're going to lose them at the claim box.”

The home run is getting a horse that improves to where it can run well in allowance and stakes races. That's the case with Frosted Grace, a $32,000 claim a year ago who has made $382,860 for Flying P in 2023, including winning Lone Star Park's GIII Steve Sexton Mile S.

Three other Diodoro-trained horses will make their first start for the barn Saturday, having been claimed specifically for the Claiming Crown. One, Pens Street in the Glass Slipper, has been claimed in three of her last four races.

The $75,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial will be the second start for Diodoro with $40,000 claim On a Spree, who changed hands six times in his prior seven starts, including spending one race apiece for Hartman and Sharp.

“The claiming game gives everyone a chance,” said Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA. “There's often not a lot that separates blue blood from blue collar. Horses every day outrun their pedigrees. High price tags bring high expectations, but sometimes those horses simply aren't good enough for top-level company. That doesn't mean they aren't still good, productive horses. And sometimes horses' form goes off to where they're put in a claiming race to get them back on track. Like Emerald favorite Therapist.”

That New York-bred gelding, an eight-time stakes-winner at the time, was claimed for $25,000 and then for $50,000 in his next start by Maker in January. Therapist now has won three races for new owner Michael Dubb, including the GI United Nations S.

Hamelback noted that Glass Slipper favorite Samarita was a $1,000 yearling who has won her past six races and that Claiming Crown Jewel favorite Money Supply cost $400,000 as a yearling but clearly didn't fit into his original owner's program geared toward the classic races.

“The same mare, Tokyo Time, produced $3-million earner Olympiad a year after she foaled Iron Horse contender Mau Mau,” Hamelback said. “He lost his first six starts, was put in a $30,000 claiming race, won that day and was claimed and has since raced successfully at his level for several different trainers. There are a lot more Mau Maus than Olympiads. They are good racehorses at their level and bring a lot of joy to their owners and barns. We celebrate them all with the Claiming Crown.”

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Ramsey Seeks to Add to his Record 16 Claiming Crown Wins

Edited Press Release

Ken Ramsey is back at the Claiming Crown. If he has only three horses (in two races) running in the program designed to showcase American horse racing's blue-collar horses, it's not for a lack of effort.

The 88-year-old Ramsey is the winningest owner in the history of the Claiming Crown, which will be staged for the 25th time this Saturday at the historic Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. But his last starter came with Peru (GB) (Motivator {GB}), whose victory in the 2018 Claiming Crown Tiara at Gulfstream Park extended Ramsey's record in the program to 16.

“I'm trying to pad my resume,” quipped Ramsey, who significantly downsized his once-massive racing operation in recent years. “… I was trying to get a horse for each [Claiming Crown] race. I started looking when they finished up last year. I decided, hey, I'm going to get back in the game. I'd downsized and I had a few health issues and I've not been as active. But I enjoyed it so much and missed it so much that I started claiming some. I probably claimed 20 horses this year–and got out-shook for probably three times that many.

“… I just turned 88. I'm kind of an old fossil. It's like my last hurrah. I'm probably getting pretty close to the finish line, so I'd like to go out with a blaze of glory.”

The Claiming Crown, conceived to be a Breeders' Cup-style event for claiming horses, was created in 1999 by the National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA). The program gives Thoroughbred racing's workhorses, their owners and trainers a day in the spotlight in recognition of their importance to filling out race cards across the nation.

Though he and his late wife, Sarah, became major players internationally–earning four Eclipse Awards as outstanding owner and two as outstanding breeder, as well as four Breeders' Cup victories and the Dubai World Cup–Ramsey burst on the scene as a Pick Six bettor and by claiming lots of horses and winning lots of races. Extremely goal-oriented, Ramsey put his mind to setting records for meet titles at wins at Churchill Downs, Keeneland and Kentucky Downs–in the process becoming the winningest owner in Kentucky history.

The Claiming Crown became a major goal as well, one now off hiatus.

In King's Ovation (Not This Time), Ramsey has one of the favorites for the $200,000 Claiming Crown Jewel at 1 1/8 miles for horses that have competed for a claiming price of $35,000 in 2023. Ramsey claimed King's Ovation for $62,500 at Keeneland–a race he won impressively–in his last start. The owner also has Shimmer Me Timbers (Eddington) and Cotton (Twirling Candy) in the $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf for horses that have raced for a $25,000 claiming price or less in 2022-2023. All three were claimed out of their last start specifically for the Claiming Crown, he said.

“It gives the little guy a chance to strike a home run,” Ramsey said of the Claiming Crown. “The purses are good and the competition is good. They spread it around. It's been at about four or five different tracks. I used to never miss, would have three, four or five running in it all the time. But I'm back to feeling good. I'm looking forward to Saturday so I can try to add another one.”

King's Ovation and Shimmer Me Timbers are trained by Robertino Diodoro, while Saffie Joseph, Jr. trains Cotton.

Diodoro began training for Ramsey this past spring.

“I'd have loved to have seen this guy when he was about 45 years old,” the trainer said of Ramsey. “I give him a lot of credit. He's full of a lot of energy and I love his attitude. He loves the game–and loves winning.”

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