Claiming Crown attracts 294 nominations
MIAMI – Nominations for the 2017 Claiming Crown were released earlier in the week, which means opening day of the 2017-18 Gulfstream Park Championship meeting is right around the corner.
For the sixth consecutive year, the Claiming Crown will kick off the meet. The Claiming Crown lured 294 nominations, including those of four defending champions – Super Spender (Canterbury), Tormenta de Oro (Glass Slipper), Chepstow (Iron Horse), and Shaft of Light (Rapid Transit). The Claiming Crown will consist of nine races worth more than $1.1 million in purses.
Trainer Mike Maker, who has saddled a record 15 Claiming Crown winners since the program began in 1999, nominated 29 horses to this year’s event, seven of them for Ken and Sarah Ramsey, who have also won 15 Claiming Crown races over the years. The $200,000 Jewel is the richest race on the program. It will be decided at 1 1/8 miles for horses who have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or less since Jan. 1, 2016. Nominees include Diamond Bachelor and John Jones, who ran second and third behind the favored Royal Posse in the 2016 Jewel.