Mid-Atlantic claiming activity surged during the first week in August, with the gross and average value of horses claimed climbing by more than 20 percent.
In six racing days, Charles Town, Delaware, Monmouth, Parx Racing, and Penn National recorded 65 total claims with a gross value of $817,500. That was one fewer day than last week, but the number of horses claimed was almost identiical to the 68 taken in seven days a week ago.*
That gross value was 20 percent higher than the prior week’s $678,750. With 65 claims, the average claimed horse cost more than $12,500, up more than a quarter from the prior week and the highest value of any week to date.
Parx Racing saw 26 horses claimed, the most of any of the region’s tracks, and with an average value of nearly $16,000, the track led the region in that category, as well. At the other end of the spectrum, Delaware and Charles Town saw four and six horses change hands, respectively, with Charles Town’s $5916 average value the region’s lowest.
Michael Pino led the region’s trainers with $81,000 in claims, and he was one of seven trainers to claim three horses this past week. On the other side of the ledger, Louis Linder lost three via the claimbox, tops of any trainer; and the $56,000 value of the horses claimed from Peter Kazamias was the most.
* Note: Because of a modification in the way The Racing Biz tracks the data, the period analyzed covers six days — August 1-6 — rather than seven. Subsequent reports will return to covering seven full days of racing, with the Thursday morning report covering claiming activity through Tuesday evening’s racing.
