Claiming Crown brings day of excitement to Gulfstream Park
If you wonder if there still is quality horse racing to bet on after the Breeders’ Cup, look no further than Gulfstream Park on Saturday for the Claiming Crown. First run in 1999 at Canterbury Park, it is now a staple in South Florida.
The Claiming Crown is copied after the Breeders’ Cup, but as the name says, it is for horses that have run in a claiming race. For every American Pharoah or Arrogate who are royally bred to be great, there are hundreds more toiling in the claiming ranks.
Every so often, some of them develop into nice horses. And then you have the rare rags-to-riches stories like John Henry or Lava Man. You could have bought either horse for the price of a late-model used car, and they went on to win millions of dollars.
Think about this. Most new horse owners do not start at the top of the market. No matter how rich a person is, $1 million is still a lot. And to spend that on an untried racehorse is the ultimate in risky business.
Most new owners start with claiming horses. If they are lucky, they break even. Later, they might start buying pricey young babies with pedigree hoping to strike the mother lode.
The Claiming Crown will have its 18th running Saturday. The purses are a cumulative $1.1 million for nine stakes races.
I’ll look at one race, the $200,000 Jewel. It is the richest Claiming Crown race and drew a field of nine. The defending champion is Royal Posse, who has won three straight races.
Royal Posse is a poster horse for the best in what the Claiming Crown has to offer. New York trainer Rudy Rodriguez claimed him for $20,000 on May 31, 2015. The horse has won more than $1 million in purses.
What made the claim even smarter is Royal Posse is a New York bred. Purses for New York breds are through the roof at New York Racing Association tracks.
Royal Posse is clearly the horse to beat. My suggestions to back him up include Bigger Picture and John Jones.
HOLLYWOOD DERBY
The Hollywood Derby on Saturday is among the final four Grade 1 stakes this year. All will be run at Del Mar, Los Alamitos and Santa Anita Park.
Half the field of 12 is shipping in from the East Coast, and there lies a major rub. The Southern California turf division has been substandard this year. Horses shipping in from the East Coast look as if they are shooting fish in a barrel.
With that in mind, my top three picks are Camelot Kitten, Beach Patrol and Revved Up. Chad Brown trains Camelot Kitten and Beach Patrol, and Shug McGaughey trains Revved Up.
Camelot Kitten has beaten Beach Patrol twice and lost to him once. He has a powerful late kick, and more often than not has found an open path to rally late. Beach Patrol cost me a lot of cash on Kentucky Derby day when he lost the American Turf by inches to Camelot Kitten.
Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. You can buy his Del Mar picks at www.racedaylasvegas.com. Email him at rich_eng@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter @richeng4propick.