Claiming Crown hopefuls try to win and get in

The nine Claiming Crown Preview races at Laurel Park on Sunday mirror the ones that will be held at Gulfstream Park on Dec. 3. The Laurel winners will receive fees-paid berths in the corresponding Gulfstream races and free transportation to and from Florida.

Sunday’s card will offer purses of $400,000. The Claiming Crown races at Gulfstream will be worth more than $1.1 million.

The Claiming Crown races are run under starter-allowance conditions. A total of 87 horses are in the body of the Laurel races, three of which have also-eligibles.

Here’s a look at some of the more interesting horses on the card:

◗ The Jewel is a 1 1/8-mile race for horses who have started for a claiming price of $35,000 or less since Jan. 1, 2015. John Jones is 3 for 3 since being claimed for $25,000 by owner Matt Schera and trainer Lacy Gaudet at Laurel in July.

John Jones has won the Mister Diz, a turf sprint for Maryland-breds, and two optional-claiming races at a mile since changing barns. His Beyer Speed Figures in those races were 94, 98, and 96.

This will be the first time in his 17-start career that John Jones will race at a distance farther than 1 1/16 miles.

◗ The Glass Slipper is for fillies and mares who have raced for $12,500 or less in 2015 or 2016. The one-mile race has attracted Sweet On Smokey, who has made nine of her last 10 starts in stakes company and is trained by Claudio Gonzalez. She finished second, beaten a neck, in the $100,000 Pink Ribbon at Charles Town in her most recent start. A closing sprinter, Sweet On Smokey makes her first start beyond seven furlongs since October 2015.

Also in the Glass Slipper field are Chapel of Chimes and A Place to Shine.

A $6,250 claim at Penn National in August, Chapel of Chimes has won five of her last six starts. Trained by Eduardo Rojas, she won the Maryland Million Starter Handicap on Oct. 22 by 12 lengths.

A Place to Shine, trained by Kathy Mongeon, was claimed for $12,500 at Gulfstream in March. She finished second in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks in July.

◗ The Canterbury is a 5 1/2-furlong turf sprint for horses who have raced for $25,000 or less since Jan. 1, 2015. Triple Burner, trained by Linda Albert, is coming off a third-level optional-claiming turf-sprint win at Laurel on Oct. 14. He finished second in the $100,000 Laurel Dash in September.

◗ The Distaff Dash is the filly-and-mare version of the Canterbury. Spectacular Me finished second, beaten a length, in a second-level optional-claiming turf sprint at Belmont Park in her most recent start. Trainer Steve Klesaris entered the 6-year-old for the optional $62,000 claiming price that day.