Saturday’s Claiming Crown: “This is what it’s about”

One day a year, American racing focuses squarely on the blue-collar warriors that are the backbone of the Thoroughbred industry: the claiming horse. The Claiming Crown gives those horses – and, as importantly, their owners and trainers — their day in the spotlight.

Saturday’s $1.2 million Claiming Crown will be staged for the 28th time, with Churchill Downs the host track for the fourth time in five years. Purses will total $1.2 million, ranging from $100,000 to $200,000, not including additional purse supplements for registered Kentucky-breds. Back this year for the first time since 2021 is a ninth race, a six-furlong sprint for fillies and mares renamed the Empress.

“We love the Claiming Crown,” said Maryland and Virginia-based trainer Lacey Gaudet, who has Indy Charges On in the $200,000 Jewel and Initialize in the $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial. “It’s a big goal of ours to at least try to participate. It’s such an important day to showcase these guys. Not all of them have the opportunity as young horses to become stakes horses or high-caliber horses. It’s really nice to see them change hands and flourish in somebody else’s barn, get a change of pace and really see them thrive.”

The Claiming Crown is staged annually by the National Horsemen’s Benevolence & Protective Association (NHBPA) and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) in conjunction with the host track and its HBPA affiliate, in this case the Kentucky HBPA.

The 12-race Claiming Crown card will be America’s dominant racing program Saturday, with no graded stakes in the United States that day. The only purse larger than the $200,000 Jewel is Churchill Downs’ $300,000 Dream Supreme, positioned as race 3, with the Claiming Crown running as races 4-12. First post for the card is 1 p.m. ET.

The Claiming Crown has morphed into a multi-faceted celebration of horse racing. While the nine Claiming Crown races provide a championship-style event for horses that have competed at various claiming levels, its full fields provide one of the year’s best days for handicapping. This year adds a charitable component to raise money for the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP).

For Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA, Claiming Crown Day brings everyone in racing together.

“We look at these horses as mature, older horses and understand that they are the true backbone of the racing industry,” Hamelback said. “But you also see the people who care for these horses, love these horses — the owners, trainers, grooms. The emotion that they show on that day, win or lose, is really difficult to describe. You look around the paddock and you see the owners, the trainers, then you start to see others. You see racetrack management, industry professionals. This day is a galvanizing day for the industry, because it really highlights what’s good in the industry.

“This is what it’s about. This is about the passion for the race, passion for the horse, and understanding that this is not the end of their career. We’re building pathways for second careers here at the Claiming Crown. We want our horses to go on and perform as older athletes in different areas. So, for me, it’s really become a special event that I believe helps bring the industry back to the point of being with the horse, the passion for the horse, love of the sport and appreciation of the industry.”

For the second year, TwinSpires will offer the TwinSpires Claiming Crown NHC Qualifier online handicapping tournament. The live-money competition on the Claiming Crown card will offer at least two seats to the 2027 National Horseplayers Championship March 5-7 in Las Vegas. Last year’s inaugural contest attracted 108 participants to rank third behind only Kentucky Derby Day and Kentucky Oaks Day tournaments for participation among TwinSpires’ NHC qualifiers, according to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, which owns and operates the NHC.

“We’re very excited once again to have the NHC qualifier with the help of TwinSpires,” Hamelback said. “That’s become, in a short period of time, one of the most participated-in events for qualifiers. It’s a great day for horseplayers. It’s an amazing day with full fields. Everything that always gets discussed about what horse players want, the Claiming Crown has.”

Entries for the Claiming Crown card were taken yesterday (Saturday, Nov. 7). A total of 101 horses are in the body of the Claiming Crown races for an average of 11.2 horses per race, with fields ranging from nine to a capacity of 12 horses in four races and a 14-horse race (the Rapid Transit at seven furlongs). Three races (Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial, Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial and $175,000 Emerald on turf) have also-eligible lists, where those horses may run if there are scratches by 8 a.m. Saturday.

New this year is the Retired Racehorse Project (RRP) as a Claiming Crown sponsor. Through the Lexington-based non-profit’s Claiming Crown Pledge, owners, trainers and jockeys are encouraged to donate any specified percent or amount of Claiming Crown purse earnings. The RRP facilitates placement of former Thoroughbred racehorses in second careers by increasing demand for them in equestrian sports and serving the farms, trainers and organizations that transition them. Among its biggest and best-known events is the annual Thoroughbred Makeover, the world’s largest Thoroughbred retraining competition for recently retired ex-racehorses.

The Claiming Crown races are held under starter-allowance conditions, with the horses having competed for a designated claiming price or less during a given time frame. The claiming level ranges from $8,000 up to $35,000 for the Jewel, with the races featuring distances from 5 1/2 furlongs on grass to the Jewel’s 1 1/8 miles on dirt.

“It’s a fabulous showcase for the hard-knocking horses that are the meat and potatoes of this business,” said trainer Joe Sharp, who has six horses entered in five starts, including Westside Tide and Uncle Funny in the Jewel. “I love it. About May, June every year we start thinking about, ‘Could this horse be something to target the Claiming Crown with?’… Guys coming from all the tracks with a Claiming Crown horse — and this being like their Breeders’ Cup — doing it at Churchill Downs puts them in the spotlight. It’s a big deal.”

A total of 101 horses are in the body of the Claiming Crown races, with fields ranging from nine to a capacity of 12 horses in four races and a 14-horse race (the $125,000 Rapid Transit at seven furlongs). Three races ($100,000 Iron Horse Kent Stirling Memorial, $150,000 Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial and $175,000 Emerald) have also-eligible lists, where those horses can run if there are scratches by 8 a.m. Saturday.

Mike Maker will attempt to add on to his record 23 Claiming Crown wins, sending out six horses in four races, though one needs scratches to compete.

The entrants include a trio of 2025 Claiming Crown winners: the Saffie Joseph-trained Concrete Glory in the Iron Horse, seeking to be the first three-time Claiming Crown winner, the Maker-trained Shape Note (Canterbury Tom Metzen Memorial) and the Bob Hess-trained Nation (Rapid Transit).

Eight of the nine winners from Colonial Downs’ Aug. 22 Claiming Crown Showcase qualifiers are running in the main event at Churchill Downs: Kerness K, who brings 11 straight wins into the $100,000 Ready’s Rocket Express; Zero Blitz (Rapid Transit); Freedom Road (narrow runner-up last two years in Iron Horse); Awesome Pic ($100,000 Empress, and who won Colonial prep at 40-1 odds); Shape Note (Canterbury), Coquito ($100,000 Glass Slipper), Goats on a Tree ($150,000 Tiara, in which she was third last year) and Westside Tide ($175,000 Emerald).

Story by Jennie Rees, National HBPA communications

Video: Discover the heart of the Claiming Crown

Tomorrow on Blood-Horse Monday podcast: National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback discusses the Claiming Crown with Louie Rabaut and Sean Collins.