[For The Lead]

What is a WAIVER CLAIMING RACE?

Waiver claiming races are a fairly new concept in horse racing. The idea is to protect owners who are returning a horse to racing after having been off for an extended period of time. Most times the reason for the extended layoff is due to an injury. With Vet bills, feed bills and training fees, to name a few, this can become a very expensive ordeal for the owner, so laws have been passed to allow such an owner to return his horse to racing without fear of losing the horse through the claim box the very first race back. There are, however, certain criteria the owner must adhere to in order to qualify.

1 – the period of time the horse has been off is the first requirement. “GENERALLY” it must be 6 months (180 days) but this can be different from state to state. As an example, in NY the horse must be off for 180 days, while in PA the requirement is only 120 days.
2 – there is also a regulation in place that would prohibit an owner from dropping his horse down in class and “stealing” a purse. Therefore, in order to qualify, the owner must return his horse to the races at a level equal to or greater than the last race the horse ran in competitively.

Note: even if a horse qualifies, it is not automatically ineligible for a claim. The owner must declare the horse as not eligible to be claimed at the time of entry.