Claiming Crown comes to Churchill for the first time

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – All kinds of things have occurred under the twin spires of Churchill Downs – weddings, Breeders’ Cups, rock concerts, Muhammad Ali carrying the Olympic flame, religious processions, Arabian racing, scatterings of ashes, the Arlington Million, car shows, and yes, the vast majority of the 148 runnings of the Kentucky Derby (the spires weren’t built until 1895).

But never the Claiming Crown.

One of the more underrated events in the Thoroughbred racing business comes to Churchill for the first time Saturday with the 24th Claiming Crown, an eight-race series that should make for great fun for hard-core handicappers. They’re the last eight of 11 races on a card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern.

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Big fields are the norm, thanks in part to the fact that Lasix treatment is allowed for the 95 horses (including seven also-eligibles) entered in the eight Claiming Crown races, all of them for 3-year-olds and up conducted under starter-allowance conditions, meaning all horses have run for a claiming price at some point in their careers. Unlike in past years, the races are not considered ungraded stakes, thereby circumventing Kentucky rules that ban Lasix treatment in any stakes. Only one Claiming Crown runner, Foreign Exchange in the Glass Slipper (race 5), will not be treated with the bleeder medication.

Combined purses for the eight Claiming Crown races are just more than $1 million, with 11 states being represented. Three races will be run over a turf course being sparingly used at the Churchill fall meet – weather permitting, that is. The amount of rain the course would absorb Friday (there was a 100 percent chance, according to forecasters) surely will factor into track officials’ decision as to whether those races will move to the dirt.

The richest race is the $175,000 Jewel (race 10), which, along with the Emerald (race 11) and maybe a preceding race or two, will be run under the Churchill lights. Purses for the others range from $100,000 to $150,000. Additional bonuses for Kentucky-breds are available in all races.

The Claiming Crown, long touted as a mini-Breeders’ Cup for so-called “blue-collar” horses that populate day-to-day race cards throughout North America, was inaugurated in 1999 at Canterbury Park, where the series was a mainstay in its formative years. It has been run the last 10 years in early December at Gulfstream Park, where in 2020 the record full-card handle of more than $14.6 million was set. Only once before was the Claiming Crown held in Kentucky, and that was in 2007 at Ellis Park in brutally hot weather. The chilly outlook for Saturday in Louisville is a stark contrast – partly sunny skies and a high of just 46 following the Friday rain.

Here’s a rundown of all the Claiming Crown races:

$150,000 Canterbury

Bad Beat Brian was beaten just two lengths when he dead-heated for fourth last month in the Grade 2 Woodford over the Keeneland turf. Assuming this stays at 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass, he’ll surely go favored for the high-percentage barn of Brittany Vanden Berg in a field of 11. The Canterbury is for horses that have started for a claiming tag of $25,000 or less in 2021-22.

$100,000 Glass Slipper

Saffie Joseph Jr. missed the Claiming Crown being held in his own backyard in Florida so much that he’s represented in five of the eight races, perhaps most notably in this one-mile race for fillies and mares with Shes All Woman, a romping winner of all four of her races at Gulfstream since Joseph claimed her in March. The claiming limit for the Glass Slipper is $12,500.

$100,000 Iron Horse

Mike Maker, easily the leading trainer in Claiming Crown history with 19 wins, has taken over the training of Souper Catch, one of a handful of logical contenders in a field of 10 in this 1 1/16-mile race. Souper Catch, like most of the opposition, has come a long way since once being risked for the $8,000 minimum that governs this race (he actually ran for $5,000 on Oct. 16, 2020, at Penn National).

$150,000 Tiara

Remaining on the turf is an obvious key to this 1 1/16-mile race holding together as intended, as Sunny One, Peace With Honor, and Starship Mallomar all tend to do their best on grass. If on dirt, the complexion changes dramatically, with Candy Raid, Misty Veil, Judy’s Way, and main-track-only World of Wonder standing better chances. The Tiara is for horses that have started for a claiming price of $25,000 or less in 2021-22.

$100,000 Express

Silver Moon Road brings a five-race win streak into a highly competitive six-furlong race that drew the winningest horse in America this year, Beverly Park, who owner-trainer Lynn Cash fondly calls “a tank” after compiling 12 wins from 25 starts in 2022. The Wolfman and Powerfully Built are among other threats in an oversubscribed lineup. The starter claiming price for the Express is $8,000.

$125,000 Rapid Transit

This is one of many remarkably deep – some might say nearly inscrutable? – races in the series, with Ragtime Blues, No Burn, Family Man, Lt. Junior Grade, Soaring Bird, and The Queens Jules all likely to draw their fare share of tote action before going seven furlongs. The Rapid Transit’s top claiming value is $16,000.

$175,000 Jewel

Intrepid Heart embodies the warrior type to symbolize the Claiming Crown, and his regular effort in this 1 1/8-mile race might give him the slightest of edges in a classy group that includes a pair of last-out stakes winners, Ournationonparade and Benevengo, along with hard knockers Calibrator, Keystone Field, Digital, and Tiz Rye Time. The Jewel has the top starter-level value, at $35,000.

$150,000 Emerald

Again, the outcome of this 1 1/16-mile race largely hinges on whether it’s run on the grass or not. If so, then Onenightstandards, Big Agenda, and Freedom Matters look like deserving public choices, and if not, the pendulum shifts in favor of a few others, including Palace Coup, the lone main-track-only designate among the 16 entries. The Emerald’s top starter-claiming price is $25,000.

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