The Racing Biz has been tracking claiming activity in the mid-Atlantic region and reporting on it weekly for the last several months, in our Claimbox report.  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 January 7, 2014.

For the first time in six weeks, it was not John Locke’s name atop the Midlantic Claiming 7 leaderboard.  Instead, after a sluggish week of claiming activity in the region, Scott Lake has assumed the top spot.

Lake has claimed seven horses in the last 30 days — the same number as both Locke and Kieron Magee — but the value of his claims, $90,500 (average: $12,929) exceed that of the others on a crowded list.

There was only one newcomer to the roster of busiest claiming trainers.  Kevin Patterson checked in in seventh place, with five claims for a total of $35,500 (average: $7,100) after a week in which he claimed two.  He replaces Kathleen DeMasi, who did not make any claims last week.

Lake also led all trainers in horses lost via the claimbox over the last 30 days.  He lost seven with a combined value of $63,750, leaving him with no increase in horses but some increase in the value of his stock.  Interestingly, New York-based David Jacobson — who has made just 28 starts at Laurel since the beginning of the fall meet — was second on the list, having lost six horses (all at Laurel) during the last 30 days.  Those horses average just less than $5,000.

On the flip side of the ledger, Magee lost just two horses via the claimbox, leaving him with a net gain of five horses (combined value: $64,500), tops in the region.  Ferris Allen, with a net gain of four, was second on the list.

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For the week…

Between cancellations and the holidays, there wasn’t much racing in the region, and claiming activity plummeted.

Overall, 38 horses were claimed in the region with a combined value of $399,750 (average: $10,520).  The number of claims was down 28 percent from the prior week, and, with the average price essentially flat, the gross value of those horses also fell by 29 percent.

Both Charles Town and Penn National raced only one day during the week, and as a result, Laurel and Parx far exceeded them in claiming activity.  Parx led all tracks, with 16 horses claimed with a total value of $183,000 (average: $11,438), while at Laurel 13 horses changed hands via the claimbox with a combined value of $154,500 (average: $11,885).

The claimbox report covers claiming activity at Laurel Park, Parx Racing, Penn National, and Charles Town.

Weekly Dollar Value of Horses Changing Hands