Colonial Downs will host eight Claiming Crown Preview races on Thursday, and no trainer is better prepared than Jamie Ness. Assembling some of his best runners from Delaware Park and Parx Racing, he entered seven strong contenders in search of automatic bids to Churchill Downs. “I think it’s a good deal,” Ness said. “We happen to have a lot that qualify this year, and it’s nice to be able to run them here and seeing what we’ve got before we end up shipping all the way to Churchill.” Each of Colonial’s eight qualifying races, run under starter allowance conditions, on Claiming Crown Showcase Day corresponds to a race at the Claiming Crown, which will be held at Churchill on Nov. 15. The first two finishers in each qualifying race will gain automatic entry into their respective race at Churchill. The winner of each qualifier will receive a $2,000 travel stipend. The Claiming Crown Jewel, a 1 1/8-mile race on dirt, is the event’s biggest race each year and will offer a $200,000 purse. In its $100,000 qualifying race, the 10th at Colonial, Ness has entered 5-year-old gelding Love Me Not, who won a $25,000 claiming race by 13 1/2 lengths at Parx last month. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “He beat some horses that he was just better than,” Ness said. “[This is a] class test, but he’s been very impressive training.” Love Me Not will open at 5-1 and could be Ness’s longest shot of the day, as the trainer seems to have even better chances throughout the card. In the 11th race, a 1 1/16-mile turf prep for the $175,000 Claiming Crown Emerald, Ness entered Kake’s Arrow, one of the hottest horses in the Mid-Atlantic this year. After Ness claimed him for $25,000 in May, the 5-year-old gelding extended his winning streak to four races in back-to-back allowance victories at Laurel Park. Stubborn on the front end in his most recent start at Colonial, Kake’s Arrow finished fourth by a length in an $80,000 allowance behind Goldeneye, next-out winner of the $100,000 Oceanport at Monmouth Park. Further down the card, Ness said that 4-year-old colt Normandy Hero was his “best shot” in a six-furlong sprint, a prep for the $100,000 Claiming Crown Ready’s Rocket Express. The 5-2 second choice on the morning line, Normandy Hero is on a three-race winning streak and recently took a starter allowance at Parx by 5 1/2 lengths. “Started training him and riding him different and, man, his last few races have been really good efforts,” Ness said. Ness liked his odds before he began discussing his morning-line favorites. J D Factor, a 4-year-old gelding, has won his last three starts by 14 1/4 combined lengths and should be a front-runner in the sixth, a seven-furlong prep for the $125,000 Claiming Crown Rapid Transit. Concrete Faze, a 4-year-old filly, has won four of her last six starts and improved to win a starter allowance at Delaware Park by 5 1/2 lengths in July. She will open at 7-5 in the fourth, a one-mile prep for the $100,000 Claiming Crown Glass Slipper. “Actually, she might be my best shot,” Ness said. A pair of hard-knocking geldings, Quick Tempo and Yodel E.A. Who, fill out Ness’s cavalry in the fifth and seventh races. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.