Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 19, September 20, 2024
A. Except as
provided in §A-1 of this regulation, in claiming races a horse is subject
to claim for its entered price by:
(1) A
licensed owner;
(2) An individual
authorized to claim in behalf of a registered stable or other multiple
ownership entity; or
(3) A
registered authorized agent in behalf of a person listed in §A(1) or (2)
of this regulation.
A-1.
In claiming races a horse is not subject to claim if:
(1) The horse has not started for a minimum
of 120 days;
(2) The last start of
the horse was a claiming race;
(3)
The horse is entered for a claiming price not less than the claiming price of
its last start;
(4) For the first
race following the period specified in §A-1(1) of this regulation, the
horse is declared ineligible to be claimed at the time of entry; and
(5) The program clearly designates that the
horse is ineligible to be claimed.
B. Eligibility to Claim.
(1) Except as provided in §B(2) and (3)
of this regulation, to be eligible to claim, a licensed owner, registered
stable, or other multiple ownership entity shall designate, as the person who
will assume control and responsibility of a claimed horse, a licensed trainer
who has been assigned stabling on grounds under the jurisdiction of the
Commission.
(2) A licensed owner,
registered stable, or other multiple ownership entity that does not have a
licensed trainer with assigned stabling on grounds under the jurisdiction of
the Commission is eligible to claim only to replace a horse lost to a claim at
a track under the jurisdiction of the Commission.
(3) A trainer who is also licensed as an
owner, and whose trainer's license is suspended, is not eligible to claim a
horse as an owner during the term of the suspension.
C. A person shall not be eligible to claim
more than one horse in a race, either directly or through another.
D. A valid claim shall:
(1) Be in writing on a form provided by the
association;
(2) Be in the name of
a person qualified to claim a horse;
(3) Be signed by the person, or the agent of
the person, in whose name the claim is made;
(4) Contain the name of the horse to be
claimed in a manner sufficient to avoid confusion with the name of another
horse in the race;
(5) Name the
trainer who will assume control and responsibility of the horse to be claimed;
(6) Be for the amount printed in
the program as the claiming price of the horse;
(7) Be enclosed in a sealed envelope,
provided by the association, which shall contain no identifying marks on its
outside other than the number of the race in which the claimed horse is to
participate;
(8) Be deposited in a
lock box of the claims clerk at least 10 minutes before the post time for the
race in which the claimed horse is to participate; and
(9) Be supported by funds on deposit at the
association in the name of the claimant in an amount sufficient to cover the
cost of the claim, any taxes to which the claim may be subject, and 1.5 percent
of the claiming price, which shall be paid to the horse retirement program
approved by the organization representing the majority of horsemen.
E. After the deadline for entering
a claim has passed, the stewards or their designee shall:
(1) Open the claim envelopes for the race;
(2) If the same trainer is named
on more than one claim form, conduct a drawing of those forms, which results in
the trainer being named on only one claim form;
(3) After ascertaining compliance with
§§D and E of this regulation, if there is more than one valid claim
for a horse, conduct a drawing to determine the successful claimant; and
(4) Notify the Racing Secretary of
the identity of the successful claimant and the horse claimed.
F. The stewards may require a
person who submits a claim for a horse in a claiming race to make an affidavit
declaring that the person is claiming the horse for the person's own account or
for the account of another as the registered authorized agent for that person.
G. If the stewards determine that
a horse was improperly entered in a claiming race, they may:
(1) Void a claim of the horse;
(2) Order the claiming monies, including all
taxes, refunded to the claimant through the Clerk of the Course, the horsemen's
bookkeeper, or otherwise; and
(3)
Order the return of the horse to the original owner.
H. Except as provided in §H-1 or H-2 of
this regulation, unless there is a violation of this regulation by the
claimant, or the stewards determine that a horse was improperly entered:
(1) The claim is irrevocable and the claimed
horse becomes the property of the successful claimant from the time the horse
is a starter; and
(2) A purse
earned in the race from which a horse is claimed is the property of the owner
from whom the horse is claimed.
H-1. A claim shall be voided if a horse is a
starter and the horse:
(1) Dies on the
racetrack; or
(2) Suffers an injury
which requires the euthanasia of the horse, as determined by a State
veterinarian, while the horse is on the racetrack.
H-2. A claim is voidable at the sole
discretion of the new owner, for a period of 1 hour after the race is made
official, for any horse that:
(1) Is vanned
off the track after the race at the discretion of the State Veterinarian;
or
(2) Is sent to the detention
barn and observed to be lame by the State Veterinarian.
I. After the race has been run, the
successful claimant shall present verification of the claim by the Racing
Secretary to the person accompanying the claimed horse.
J. A properly claimed horse shall be
delivered to the successful claimant in the:
(1) Paddock, immediately after the running of
the race, if the horse is not subject to post-race testing; or
(2) Detention area, after the horse has
undergone post-race testing, if the horse is subject to that testing.
K. If a trainer refuses
to deliver a horse that has been claimed to the successful claimant when
verification of the claim is presented in accordance with §I of this
regulation, the:
(1) Trainer is subject to
sanctions; and
(2) Claimed horse
shall be disqualified from participating in further racing until delivery is
made.
L. In claiming
races, the following acts, or an attempt to commit the following acts, are
prohibited:
(1) An agreement to claim, or not
to claim, a horse belonging to another owner;
(2) Preventing an owner from:
(a) Claiming a horse, or
(b) Legitimately running a horse in a race;
(3) The claiming of a
horse by:
(a) The owner of the
horse,
(b) Another person for the
account of the owner of the horse, or
(c) One owner from another if the trainer of
the horse to be claimed trains a horse owned by the entity making the claim;
and
(4) The entry of a
horse if there is:
(a) A lien or other
encumbrance affecting the transfer of title to the horse unless there is
written permission from the holder of the lien or other encumbrance, attached
to the horse's foal certificate, allowing the horse to be entered in a claiming
race,
(b) An ownership dispute, or
(c) One owner from another if the
trainer of the horse to be claimed trains a horse owned by the entity making
the claim; and
M. If a horse is claimed:
(1) For a period of 30 days from the day of
the claim, the horse may start in a claiming race only for a claiming price at
least 25 percent more than the claiming price for which it was claimed;
(2) The horse may not be sold or
transferred to anyone, wholly or in part, for a period of 30 days from the day
of the claim, except:
(a) In a claiming race,
or
(b) When the horse is entered
and starts for a claiming price which would cause the horse to become
ineligible to be entered at Laurel or Pimlico;
(3) Unless reclaimed, the horse may not
remain in the same stable or under the control or management of its former
owner or trainer for a period of 30 days from the day of the claim;
(4) It may not race outside of Maryland for a
period of 60 days from the day of the claim except:
(a) To participate in a stakes race;
(b) To participate in a claiming
race for a price which would cause the horse to become ineligible to be entered
at Laurel or Pimlico; or (c) During the scheduled absence of a live
thoroughbred race meet in Maryland for at least 15 days.
N. For the purposes of §M of
this regulation, the day of the claim does not count in computing the time
restrictions.
O. The stewards shall
report action taken by them, in reference to a violation of this regulation, to
the Commission which may, in its discretion, take any further action it
considers appropriate.
P. A horse
which was claimed in another state and entered to race in this State remains
subject to the conditions of the claiming regulation in the state where the
claim was made until those conditions expire.
Q. Notwithstanding information printed in the
program or other racing publications, the claimant is solely responsible for
determining the horse's:
(1) Age;
(2) Breeding;
(3) Physical condition;
(4) Racing record; and
(5) Sex.
R. National Steeplechase and Hunt
Association.
(1) At race meetings conducted
by the Cecil County Breeders' Fair, Inc., claiming races shall be run under the
conditions of the Rules of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association, Part
XXIII, Rule 203, N.B., as amended 1972.
(2) For the purpose of defining a "meeting"
as it applies to the eligibility of an owner to make a claim, all meetings
sanctioned by the Hunts Committee of the N. S. & H. A. conducted between
January 1st and June 30th of any one calendar year shall be deemed to be "one
meeting", and all meetings conducted between July 1st and December 31st of any
one calendar year shall be deemed to be "one meeting".
(3) Each person desiring to make a claim,
unless he has the amount to his credit with the National Steeplechase and Hunt
Association, shall first deposit at the office of the National Steeplechase and
Hunt Association the whole amount of the claim in cash, for which a receipt
will be given; but any owner who is eligible to make a claim may do so without
having the necessary funds on deposit as outlined above, provided that he
delivers to an authorized representative of the National Steeplechase and Hunt
Association at the race course not later than 30 minutes before post time of
the 1st race of the meeting at which the claim is to be made, funds which are
sufficient to cover the whole amount of the claim. These funds shall be in the
form of a cashier's, treasurer's, or certified check only.
(4) A horse which has been claimed may not
race, other than at race meetings sanctioned by the Hunts Committee of the
National Steeplechase and Hunt Association, until after the close of the
meeting at which it was claimed, or for a period of 30 days, whichever comes
first.
