CHRB proposes change to claiming rule

The California Horse Racing Board has proposed a rule that will limit owners and trainers to one claim per horse instead of the current limit of two.

The racing board approved the measure at its monthly meeting on Wednesday, but the proposal must undergo public review before the board votes on the matter again. The proposed rule change must then undergo legal review by state officials before being implemented, which is several months away at the earliest.

Currently, a trainer can submit two claims for a horse, with slightly different ownership structures on each claim slip, to improve the chances of prevailing if others have submitted claims for the horse. Racing board chairman Greg Ferraro said that limiting a trainer to one claim per horse would make it more fair.

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To claim a horse in California, the required purchase price, plus sales tax, must be on deposit with the paymaster of purses before a claim is submitted.

Ferraro said some trainers asked for a rule change during the recently concluded Del Mar summer meeting.

“Multiple trainers complained they were unable to have a fair shot to claim a horse [against] larger stables with more money to put in more claims,” he said. “They requested we cut it down to one so everyone had the same chances for a successful claim.”

Ferraro acknowledged that a potential rule change would take “several months.”