Wyoming Administrative Code
Agency 038 - Wyoming Gaming Commission
Sub-Agency 0001 - Pari-Mutuel
Chapter 8 - CONDUCT OF RACES
Section 8-22 - Claiming

(a) In claiming races any horse is subject to claim for the entered price by any owner licensed by the Commission and in good standing who has at least one eligible horse registered with the Racing Secretary of a race meet in Wyoming or by any licensed owner with a valid Claim Certificate. Any other person who wishes to claim a horse must complete a Prospective Horse Owner's Application form and must be approved by the Stewards or the Commission. A Claim Certificate shall become void on the date of a successful claim. Nothing in this rule shall be construed as prohibiting the approving as a Prospective owner a person who has been licensed as an owner during the calendar year by the Commission.

(b) No one may claim more than one horse out of any one race.

(c) If a horse is claimed, it shall not start in a selling or claiming race for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of claim for less than twenty-five percent (25%) more than the amount for which it was claimed. The horse shall not be entered for thirty (30) days after being claimed in a race in which the determining eligibility price is less than twenty-five percent (25%) more than the price at which the horse was claimed. The day claimed shall not count, but the following calendar day shall be the first day and the horse shall be entitled to enter whenever necessary so the horse may start on the thirty-first (31st) calendar day following the claim for any claiming price. This provision shall not apply to starter handicaps in which the weight to be carried is assigned by the handicapper.

(d) Any horse claimed shall not be sold or transferred wholly or in part to anyone for thirty (30) days except in another claiming race. The horse shall not remain in the same barn or under the control or management of its former owner or trainer for a like period unless reclaimed. It shall not race elsewhere until after the close of the meeting at which it was claimed,except by permission of the Stewards at the meeting at which it was claimed.

(e) The claiming price of each horse in a claiming race shall be printed on the program, and all claims for the horse shall be for the amount designated. Should more than one claim be filed for the same horse, the disposition of the horse shall be determined by lot under the direction of one or more of the Stewards or one deputized to act for them.

(f) All claims must be in writing on forms and in envelopes approved by the Commission. Both forms and envelopes must be filled out completely and accurately, otherwise the claim will be void. The envelope must be sealed and deposited in a locked box provided for this purpose. No money shall accompany the claim. Each person desiring to make a claim must first deposit with the Permittee the whole amount of the claim in cash, unless at the time of depositing the claim he shall have the amount of the claim to his credit and unencumbered with the Permittee. The spelling of a horse's name on the official program on the day of claiming shall be considered to be the accurate spelling for the purpose of claiming.

(g) When a claim has been filed it is irrevocable and at the risk of the claimant. If a claimed horse has had a posterior digital (heel nerve) neurectomy and as not complied with requirements in, Sec.3 (z), (i), (aa). The claimant shall have forty-eight (48) hours from the start of the race from which the horse was claimed to file a protest which must be supported by an affidavit made by a licensed veterinarian and the Official Veterinarian.

(h) A turf authority registration certificate for each horse entered in claiming races must be in possession of the Racing Secretary. When ownership changes as a result of a claim, the Racing Secretary shall cause the registration certificate to be properly endorsed prior to transfer to the new owner's file. A claimed horse may run on a transfer if papers, transfer and fees are in the possession of the Racing Secretary.

(i) All claims must be deposited in the claiming box at least ten minutes before the time fixed for the race to begin and not later, and no official shall give any information as to the filing of claims until after the race has been run. All claims shall be passed upon by the Stewards.

(j) A horse claimed shall not be delivered by the original owner to the successful claimant until authorization shall be given by the Stewards. Every horse claimed shall run in the interest and for the account of the owner who entered it in the race, but title to the claimed horse shall be vested in the successful claimant from the time the horse becomes a "starter" and the successful claimant shall become the owner of the horse whether it is alive or dead, sound or unsound, or injured during the race or after it.

(k) The Stewards shall be the sole judges of the quality of the horses in the stable of the claimant and may declare any claim void.

(l) Any person making a claim for a horse in any claiming race shall sign an affidavit which shall be part of the claim blank, certifying that he is claiming the horse for his own account or as an authorized agent and not for any other person. Any person making an affidavit falsely shall be immediately suspended and his case referred to the Commission for further action.

(m) No person shall refuse to deliver a horse claimed out of a claiming race to the person entitled to receive the horse under these rules. The horse in question shall be disqualified along with all other horses owned or trained by the person refusing to deliver until delivery is made.

(n) No person or persons shall enter or allow to be entered in a claiming race a horse against which any claim is held, either as a mortgage, bill of sale, or lien of any kind, unless when entering the horse the written consent of the holder of the claim is filed with the Permittee conducting the race.

(o) An owner who ships all of his horses away from a meeting or withdraws the registration certificates of horses owned by him forfeits immediately his right to claim at the meeting, but may re-earn that right by again starting a horse at that meeting and by fully complying with these Rules.

(p) Should any stable be eliminated by sale or removal from the grounds, the right to claim shall be void. When a stable has been eliminated by claiming, the owner so affected shall have the right to claim a horse during the next thirty (30) days at any recognized meeting in this state even though all or a portion of the next thirty (30) racing days takes place in the following calendar year. If another horse has not been claimed or acquired prior to the completion of the meeting at which his stable was eliminated, the owner may obtain a Certificate of Eligibility form the Stewards to claim without representation at any track in the State within the prescribed time. (Certificate must be enclosed in envelope with completed claim form.) The same type certificate may be issued by the Stewards to an owner whose stable has been eliminated by fire or other disaster. If another horse is acquired and registered for racing in Wyoming prior to exercising his right to claim without representation, the owner shall immediately surrender his Certificate of Eligibility.