Claiming races are often called the meat and potatoes of horse racing, but the game has evolved in recent years from what many considered high-stakes poker to a more regulated and less risky endeavor for horse owners. Greater pre-race veterinary scrutiny, tighter medication restrictions, and voided claim rules have improved health and welfare conditions for horses and made claiming more competitive for owners.
Maggi Moss has won more than a dozen graded stakes since she entered racehorse ownership in 2000, but the primary focus of her stable over the years has been claiming races. Based in Iowa, Moss has won 2,432 races overall, captured leading owners titles at several tracks, led the nation in wins in 2006, and has been top 10 nationally by wins on 18 occasions. And she's just as well known for her commitment to aftercare as she is for winner's circle visits.
Moss joins Ray Paulick and bloodstock editor Joe Nevills in this week's Friday Show to talk about the claiming game, some of its challenges, and how it has changed over the years.
One current challenge in Kentucky, where Moss has run many horses, is the absence of regulatory “claiming jail” rules designed to prevent out-of-state trainers and owners from depleting a track's horse population by claiming horses and sending them to their home track. Churchill Downs recently imposed house rules to make up for the absence of claiming jail regulations that are in effect in most other racing states. Moss even goes so far as to suggest the time has come to look for alternatives to claiming races.
Watch this week's episode of The Friday Show below:
The post The Friday Show Presented By Woodbine: Maggi Moss On New Challenges In The Claiming Game appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
