The Racing Biz has been tracking claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic region and reporting on it weekly for the last three months.  We continue that, along with our Midlantic Claiming 7 — the trainers who have been busiest over the prior 30 days, ending in this case on October 8.

Claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic region remained solid during the week ending October 8, according to our Claimbox report, and there was little alteration in the Midlantic Claiming 7 list of the region’s busiest claiming trainers.

Jamie Ness and Patricia Farro remained the region’s busiest claiming trainers for the second consecutive week.  Each had claimed 13 horses during the preceding 30 days, four more than Scott Lake in third place.  Ness led in terms of dollar value, with $212,500, with Farro at $170,500.  Farro claimed three horses in the last week, while Ness snagged two.

The rest of the list also remained essentially similar to the prior week’s.  John Locke, Philip Aristone, Ramon Moya, and Keith LeBarron rounded it out, with Aristone (now ranked fifth) and Moya (sixth) swapping positions.  LeBarron’s claims averaged more than $25,000 each, placing him atop the leaderboard in that category.

Farro led all trainers in having horses claimed away.  Other trainers took 10 off her during the month, two more than they claimed from Jorge Navarro, though the $164,000 value of Navarro’s was the most.

The list tracks horses claimed in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and at Parx Racing and Penn National in Pennsylvania and at West Virginia’s Charles Town Races.

For the week…

Claiming activity during the week was solid, though down a touch from the prior week.

Overall, 62 horses with a combined value of $753,500 changed hands at the region’s tracks.  That was 18 percent fewer claims than the prior week, though the total value dropped less than three percent.  The average increased almost 20 percent, to $12,153, and the median rose by 56 percent to $12,500.  That was the highest weekly median recorded in the last three-and-a-half months and the fourth highest average value.

Twenty-one horses were claimed at Parx for the second consecutive week, with their value climbing to $276,500 — both far higher than any other track.  Delaware — nearing the close of its meet, thus freeing horses to travel anywhere for their next start — saw 10 horses claimed, and their average value — $15,000 — was the region’s highest.

 

Weekly Dollar Value of Horses Changing Hands