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Digital training at Churchill Downs (Jennie Rees photo). Longtime Kentucky HBPA president Rick Hiles knows how big a deal it is for racing’s rank-and-file horsemen to participate in the Claiming Crown, the series of big-money starter-allowance races for horses that are or have been claimers. Hiles is one of those “every-day” horsemen — [...]
Twelve Volt Man Winning the 2021 Claiming Crown Jewel at Gulfstream Park. (Photo by Coglianese Photos/Ryan Thompson) A total of 95 of some of the nation’s top claiming-level horses, including seven also-eligible entries, have been entered in Saturday’s 24thannual Claiming Crown Championship Series, which will be staged beneath Churchill Downs’ historic Twin Spires in Louisville, [...]
Trainer Joe Sharp on Intrepid Heart Tuesday morning at Churchill Downs. (Photo by Gwen Davis/Davis Innovation) Joe Sharp will saddle three horses Saturday in pursuit of his first Claiming Crown victory: Intrepid Heart in the $175,000 Jewel at 1 1/8 miles, Spycraft in the $150,000 Tom Metzen Memorial Canterbury at 5 1/2 furlongs [...]
Candy Raid winning the Bourbonette Oaks at 52-1 odds under Rafael Bejarano last April 2 at Turfway Park. (Photo by Coady Photography) While claiming horses so often fill out the programs for the stakes horses, those making it to the Claiming Crown can be stakes horses themselves. A prime example is the Keith [...]
Carl O'Callaghan on Moti Tuesday morning. (Photo by Gwen Davis/Davis Innovation) The Claiming Crown was created 24 years ago to serve as a Breeders’ Cup-style event celebrating the blue-collar horses that populate most of America’s racing programs. With the eight-race series coming to Churchill Downs for the first time Saturday, trainer Carl [...]
A hero is a person who is admired for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities. There are heroes all around the horse racing industry, and the Race Track Chaplaincy of America (RTCA) recognizes some of these selfless servants through its White Horse Awards. Established in 2003, the White Horse Awards recognizes individuals within the horse [...]
Total all-sources, global common-pool handle for the two-day Breeders’ Cup World Championships at Keeneland Race Course was $189,060,373, a record for the two-day event. The total represents a 3.4% increase over the prior record of $182,908,409 set when the event was held at Del Mar in 2021 and an 18% increase from the total handle [...]
Senator Chuck Grassley. Courtesy Grassley.Senate.Gov Lisa Lazarus, CEO of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA), came to Prairie Meadows on Thursday to answer questions from Iowa’s horse-racing stakeholders. Her appearance was at the behest of Iowa’s seven-term U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley. The gathering included representatives from the Iowa HBPA, Iowa Thoroughbred [...]
Photo courtesy Parx Racing Jessica Paquette will be the new voice of Parx Racing starting in December. Paquette will be the only full-time, year-round female track announcer in the United States. “I am grateful for the women in the racing industry who have paved the way for my generation to work in so [...]
A list of eligible horses and past performances for the 2022 CLAIMING CROWN are now available online by CLICKING HERE. The 24th running of the Claiming Crown will be staged at Churchill Downs for the first time on Nov. 12, a week after the Breeders’ Cup is held down the road at Keeneland. A total of 201 horses were made eligible for [...]