Oaklawn Park: Arkansas Racing Commission considering claiming- and workout-related rule changes

The Arkansas Racing Commission has proposed a number of amendments to the state’s claiming and workout rules, and if adopted the changes would go into effect with the start of the Oaklawn Park meet in January. Public comment is being received on the amendments, which will be considered for adoption at the commission’s next meeting Nov. 21.

On the claiming front, an amendment to an existing rule would give stewards the authority to void the claim of a horse that either dies during a race or is removed from the track in an ambulance. Last season at Oaklawn, owners who claimed such horses had one hour from the time the race was declared official to request the claim be voided. Under the new proposal, if the successful claimant desires to keep the horse, the claimant or his agent must inform the stewards, in writing, within 15 minutes of the race being made official.

The new rule also would allow stewards, after consultation with the state veterinarian, to void the claim of an injured horse not removed from the track in an ambulance due to certain circumstances. In such instances, the successful claimant would again have 15 minutes to inform stewards in writing of his desire to keep the horse.

Another proposed change to the claiming rule would extend the amount of time a claim can be deposited in the claim box, from 10 to 15 minutes.

A third proposed amendment addresses waiver claiming, by which a horse is ineligible to be claimed in his first start back from a layoff of a certain length, provided he is entered for a claiming price equal to or greater than the tag for which he last raced. The amendment proposes reducing the minimum layoff requirement from 120 days to 90 days.

In proposed changes to workout rules, horses returning from layoffs of 60 or more days would have to have at least two published works in the 30 days prior to the race. The current requirement is one workout. In addition, one of the works would have to be at a half-mile or longer.

Another proposed change involves the three published works a first-time starter must have prior to his debut. It calls for the works to fall in certain time frames, and for one drill to be at a half-mile or longer. In addition, at least one work must be from the starting gate within 30 days of the race.

Another proposed amendment would drop the requirement that pick three wagers be held on three consecutive races. The move would open up the option of conducting a pick three on stakes not run consecutively, an Oaklawn official said. He said the track would continue to offer traditional pick three wagers.