Optional Claimers?

[Sparky13]

I sometimes use a software program created by another person in the 1990s. It is manual input with certain categories to fill out on the opening page. One category is called "Type Of Race". There are a few choices with some as follows: ALW, ALW(NW1L), ALW(NW2L) and Claimer. This program was written before the Optional Claimers category became popular. My question is: Are today's Optional Claimers an Allowance Race or a Claimer? Is a OC40K/N$Y, which is for horses that never won 3 races or Claiming Price of $40,000, a Claimer or an Allowance? Is a ALW25000N1X, which is for horses that have never won 2 races, the same as ALW(NW2L)? The program does say to put ALW35000S (Starter Allowance) in as a Claimer. Thanks for your opinions.

[Tom]

I tend to treat them as allowance races.
If a claimer wins, I will call it a claiming race for $X for purposes of my records.
I keep Beyer pars for both the races won by claimers and those run by allowance horses.

[GMB@BP]

These races have made it more difficult for younger horses to clear conditions and I think at times they may be better than straight Alw NW1X/2X conditions.

Sometimes you can get horses with 10-15 wins against horses with 1 or 2 wins.

I think its part of the reason it may just be better to go to a stakes race.

[therussmeister]

I think at many tracks these races offer higher purses than the equivalent claiming trace.

[AJanks]

May be simplifying it too much, but I would see how many of the connections have their horses listed for a tag. If it is more, then a claimer, if it is less, than an allowance. Same, then a toss-up.

I think a lot of it has to do with the competition they face and the fact that the trainer could possibly lose a horse. If they don't mind losing the vast majority of those horses, it is just a claimer with an inflated purse.

[Steve 'StatMan']

Don't forget that a horse entered for the claiming price may already have won at that allowance level in the past, be it recent or long ago. Depending on the circuit and the claiming prices and purse levels, I often think of it as a way to fill an allowance-type of race without having a full field of allowance horses available.

Also, beware of horses in for the tag that have NOT already won at the allowance condition, those might be ones they may be willing to part with for that price.

[Dave Schwartz]

I lump them in with claiming races.

That is my way of saying that they are not NW Alw and certainly not Classified Alw.

[Sparky13]

I am now doing that Dave. Thanks!!!

[RonTiller]

There is not one race type called optional claiming. There are several race types in the optional claiming family:

Allowance Optional Claiming - Race conditions are written as an allowance race and if horses don't meet allowance conditions they can still enter the race if the owners are willing to run the horse for a claiming tag. Most optional claiming races are Allowance Optional Claiming.

Examples of AOC race conditions:

FOR FILLIES AND MARES THREE YEARS OLD AND UPWARD WHICH HAVE NEVER WON A RACE OTHER THAN MAIDEN, CLAIMING, STARTER, OR STATE BRED ALLOWANCE OR WHICH HAVE NEVER WON TWO RACES OR CLAIMING PRICE $12,500.

FOR THREE YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD WHICH HAVE NEVER WON THREE RACES OTHER THAN MAIDEN, CLAIMING, OR STARTER OR WHICH HAVE NEVER WON FOUR RACES OR CLAIMING PRICE $20,000.

Note that both these examples (and all others) the conditions are the conditions for an allowance race, with "...or claiming price $xxx..." added at the end Enter a horse that does not meet these conditions if you want but the horse will be for sale at the specified price. If you meet the conditions and enter, you are not for sale just like in any other allowance race.

Optional Claiming Handicap and Optional Claiming Stakes - These don't appear to be used anymore.

Starter Optional Claiming - Race conditions are written as a starter race and if horses don't meet start conditions they can still enter the race if the owners are willing to run the horse for a claiming tag.

Examples of SOC race conditions:

FOR FILLIES AND MARES THREE YEARS OLD AND UPWARD WHICH HAVE STARTED FOR A CLAIMING PRICE OF $5,000 OR LESS SINCE JANUARY 1, 2017 OR CLAIMING PRICE $8,000.

FOR THREE YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD WHICH HAVE STARTED FOR A CLAIMING PRICE OF $12,500 OR LESS IN 2017 - 2018 OR CLAIMING PRICE $25,000.

Note that both these examples (and all others) the conditions are the conditions for a starter type race. Enter a horse that does not meet these start conditions (typically the horse must have started for a claiming price within a certain time period) if you want but the horse will be for sale at the specified price. If you meet the conditions and enter, you are not for sale just like in any other starter race.

Weird Hybrid races

Be aware that there are all sorts of creative race conditions now that mix and match themes For instance:

FOR REGISTERED INDIANA BREDS THREE YEAR OLDS AND UPWARD WHICH HAVE STARTED FOR A CLAIMING PRICE OR WHICH HAVE NEVER WON FOUR RACES.

This is not an optional race but is a hybrid of a starter race ("WHICH HAVE STARTED FOR A CLAIMING PRICE") and allowance race ("WHICH HAVE NEVER WON FOUR RACES"); if you meet either condition, you're in.

Allowance or starter? Both? Neither? Add an optional claiming tag at the end to make things really fun.

Same thing here:

FOR REGISTERED INDIANA BREDS FILLIES AND MARES THREE YEARS OLD AND UPWARD WHICH HAVE STARTED FOR A CLAIMING PRICE OF $16,000 OR LESS OR WHICH HAVE NEVER WON FOUR RACES.

Racing secretaries have gotten creative to fill their races and the old cut and dried categories are not so cut and dried anymore. Depending on the track you play, you might see a lot of creative race conditions or very few.

And by the way, you can get a feel for what kind of races the optional claiming group are by looking at the horses these races draw. And the number (typically small to none) of horses that enter for a tag (in other words, the number of horses who do NOT qualify for the allowance or starter condition but enter anyway).

Ron Tiller
HDW

[Sparky13]

Mr. Tiller, thanks for your explanation. But why is the 8th Race today at Belmont listed with the title: OC 62k/N2K? Where is the reference to ALW?

[Tom]

Originally Posted by Sparky13

Mr. Tiller, thanks for your explanation. But why is the 8th Race today at Belmont listed with the title: OC 62k/N2K? Where is the reference to ALW?

OC 62k/N2K WHICH HAVE NEVER WON $10,000 TWICE OTHER THAN MAIDEN, CLAIMING, STARTER OR STATE BRED

They call the AOC race OC in the conditions headers, but it is an Alw nw2x.

NYRA, since last Belmont Fall meet, only cards the main Allowance races for nw1x. All the other conditions, nw2,nw3, nw4, Clf are AOC races.

[JohnGalt1]

I rate Optional claiming races equal to allowance races. A 40k OC race equal to 40k Alw. But I look at conditions to see if some need to be lowered.

I rate start allowance races two levels higher than the same price open claimer. A $12k starter equals a 20k open claimer.

These class distinctions are important to me when I make my Performance Class Rating.