Nothing sketchy about this
 

So an owner claims 3 horses out of a single race at Churchill over the weekend, when asked about this unusual occurrence this was his comment:


“We’ve brought them back to the farm to look them over and evaluate them.” Asked where the farm was, he said, “I’d rather not comment any further.”


This owner has had very few starts to his name (none in 2 years) and during his more active time he employed the squeaky clean Marcos Zulueta, who is currently doing more time in jail than these claimed horses.



I get trying to keep some trade secrets, but can there be any more of a red flag than refusing to acknowledge the location of a farm?



https://www.drf.com/news/leparoux-wi...race-churchill

trainer john david wells?

makes me want to claim some with trainer ami stephanie beauttie!

she's french!!

c'est la vie and get your bankrolls ready!! :D

I've never seen a jurisdiction that allows 3 claims by the same connections from a single race.

At Oaklawn we only allow one.

Don't really have a take as to whether or not it's good or bad.

Just have never seen it.

Article says 3 is the max in Kentucky, and happened once before with three 2yos claimed for 100k each.

I read the article

'smooth operator'
 

Alright I'm gonna go down to Ky., keep a low profile and get a few horses going for more in the Mid-Atlantic, where I can then run, sell, or partner with Kernan/Ness/et al.

The silly quote and the funny resemblance of the trainer-of-record's name, is the cloyingly sweet icing on the cake.


as far as the current claiming/jail rules in Ky.? I've spent zero time thinking about that stuff, and have zero knowledge or understanding of anything significantly related.

The entire internet doesn't contain enough bandwidth to list all "red flags" far more significant than that.


Even Watergate surely had dozens which were more red.


In modern times, maybe make your own list of "red flags" from the recent Texas shooting which qualify.



Now maybe this story is akin to Michael Gill having once paid some Vet to saw the leg off of a dead horse... but the location of a farm (known or unknown) is way down the list on the grand scale of prominent "red flags".

In California if you claim 3 you bought 75% of the race.

sometimes 100%

Agree. An unusual occurrence doesn't automatically translate to a red flag.

The winner, runner up, and 7th place finisher were claimed from an eleven horse field. $30K is pocket change for some people, and if you're an owner wanting some "action", this is a reasonable approach. I'd have to look over the PPs to understand the economic angle, but the rule that allows three claims doesn't seem out of line when you think about the "claiming game" and how that worked 25+ years ago. There used to be quite a bit of intrigue on the angles in play, and who was bluffing and what not, but that doesn't seem to be the case as much any longer.

My take away is that the contraction of the game and smaller field sizes brings up the issue of trying to protect the circuit from raiders who ship out of state. The competition between circuits will only increase from now on, but it's been there for many years.

All that being said, I have added these three horses to my watch list. I lead a boring life, and have the bandwidth, so why not keep an eye on things and look for those mysterious 20 point jump in Beyers?;)

in a five paragraph article words like parx, ness, wells, and (lol) pennsylvania don't raise any red flags?

i did have to laugh at how 67k people "liked" the article when this sport is lucky if even 67 people read as far as sg4 did.

Bingo.

I would say maybe raise an eyebrow (or both), but ALL the circuits in racing have their various red flags. The venues and connections mentioned hardly have a monopoly on shadiness....

David Wells in any context should be a red flag. Maybe John David Wells isn't the same person, but it sure as heck is flag worthy.

Not the same David Wells CJ although the original is working with thoroughbreds.