Playing To Win

CLASS STRUCTURE-Types of Races

Competitive balance is vital to the health of thoroughbred racing. Without it the probable outcome of a race would become obvious and racing fans would soon lose interest. Scheduling such races is the responsibility of the Racing Secretary. To assist him along these lines a class structure has evolved over the years. In recognition of their physical differences separate races are run for two year olds, three year olds, and older horses. Some races in each category are restricted to females while others are open to all. Since the abilities of the various horses within each group vary widely, different types of races are run with the idea of giving all but the very slow-footed a chance to compete effectively.

Early in the last century the class structure was much simpler. Within each broad category most races were open to all. The size of the purses offered varied, and that became the measure of each race's class. That didn't work very well. Some horseman began making a practice of running their classy horses for smaller purses with the idea of guaranteeing a win. A chain reaction resulted leaving those at the bottom of the ladder with no place to compete. Claiming races were designed to discourage that practice. A horseman could still run his horse below his ability level but since they were 'for sale' he would soon be out of horses if he kept doing it.

Claiming prices group horses by value and not necessarily by their racing ability. Within each type of claiming race run, however there is usually a fairly close correlation between the two so competitive balance generally results. That correlation doesn't exist however when the other conditions are different. Two year olds, for example, are worth much more than older horses of equal current racing ability because they often improve and being younger have more future potential earning power. Therefore, a $25,000 claimer is much weaker than a similar claimer for older horses.

There are two broad categories of claiming races. 'Conditional' claimers are restricted to those who have not won a specified number of races during their lifetime. At the bottom of the heap are the maiden claimers who have never won a race. Then comes the non-winner of two, three, and at some tracks four. At equal claiming prices the races grow stronger as the conditions become more restrictive, hence a $10,000 claimer for those who have not won three races is much stronger than a $10,000 maiden claimer. Other claimers are said to be 'open' although a few cheaper ones have minor restrictions.

Allowances, handicaps, and stakes do not feature claiming. Like claimers they can be grouped into two broad categories based upon their restrictions. The first includes those that are part of the 'allowance ladder'. At the bottom rung are the maiden special weight races that are restricted to those who have never won a race. That level is followed by races for those who have not won two races (or non winner of a race except maiden, claiming, etc) and so forth until the top rung is reached (non winner of four except.)

The other broad category would include all other non-claiming races. Allowances within this group usually carry conditions related to earnings or wins over a stated period of time. Some may not be as strong as the races at the top rung of the 'allowance ladder'. Others are equal or are only a notch below handicaps. Races in this category vary greatly in class and it is often difficult to assess their strength based on an examination of their conditions and restrictions. The size of the purse is a quicker and perhaps better indicator. That is particularly so when we are considering horses shipping in from another track.

A mistake that many make is to assume that all allowances are stronger that all claimers. This simply isn't true, particularly when we are considering lower level 'ladder' allowances. A basic principle to remember is that the class of a race is determined by the class of the horses that run it. The conditions and restrictions simply set forth who may not enter. Take a look at the past performances of a few mid level claiming races and you will find quite a few allowance winners. Not all have fallen on hard times. Some simply switched to claimers after climbing the allowance ladder as high as they could. During most of the year an open $25,000 claimer is probably at least as strong as a non-winner of one execept maiden, claiming, etc allowance. Late in the year it is usually stronger.

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• -Life Cycle

309-Class Handicapping

• Class Structure
• Class Rises
• Class Drops