A few weeks ago, we were enjoying the sunshine and great racing at Del Mar, with 14 Breeders’ Cup races to keep us entertained. The cards were dotted with great performances, and some finishes we won’t soon forget.
Fast forward a few weeks, and a flight about four hours east, and you get the “Claiming Crown,” a set of 7 races for claimers. Entering a horse in a claiming race comes with a risk: you attach the race’s claiming price to your runner, and if someone with the proper credentials decides prior to the rae they’d like to buy your horse, they can do so upon completion of the race. It’s an added gamble in a sport built on them.
Saturday celebrates the horses who live in these ranks: often switching trainers, barns, tracks, and even surfaces. So many of the runners we’ll see at Churchill Downs today give great effort every time, but are simply a step slower than horses at the high allowance and stakes levels.
The good news? The Claiming Crown offers 6-digit purses in a division that usually toils far below that threshold. With good money, comes a lot of demand: some of the fields carded today were so large, Churchill had to ask for permission to run them with 14 horses. Typically, racing officials, or “stewards,” consider 12 participants to be the max - at least in Kentucky. An added 2 runners - while it may seem inconseuqential - is an over 16% add in the starting gate. In a wagering game where field size matters more than ever, the Claiming Crown is always weclomed by horseplayers.
The Jewel, a $200,000 Starter Allowance run at a mile-and-an-eighth on the main track, is the feature. Let’s meet the contenders, a longshot, and try to hit the late pick 3.
The Claiming Crown. Race 8, “The Jewel.” 1 1/8M, dirt. 3+up. $200k.
Contenders:
12 Navajo Warrior. 7/2. Jockey: Irad Ortiz, Jr. Trainer: Saffie Joseph, Jr.
Navajo Warrior was tabbed the morning line favorite, and he’s a deserved one: he has own 5 of his 6 starts this year, his only blemish a 2nd-place run on the turf. He’s a perfect 4-for-4 on the dirt, at 3 different tracks, and all over 2 turns. He won most recently at Churchill going a 1 1/16 miles, and did his best running late. He’ll like the added distance, and if he’s able to stay near the front-runners on what was a speed-favoring main track at Churchill yesterday, he’ll be the winner.
Comment: most likely winner.
10 Bernin Hot. 4/1. Jockey: Luis Saez. Trainer: Rohan Crichton.
Bernin Hot will join a set of front runners in this race, and there is no one better to try and rate on the front than jockey Luis Saez. Bernin Hot is maxing out at this distance; the 9 furlongs is as far as he wants to go. But in a group that’ll try to keep pace with him, I trust Saez to keep him rated as well as possible. He can win, but there are many scenarios where he’s passed late, but gets a good check.
Comment: likely to hit the board, can win.
2 Cadet Corps. 6/1. Jockey: Junior Alvarado. Trainer: Kelly Breen.
Cadet Corps has made the full time move to dirt since moving to the Breen barn, and it’s been advantageous: 7 total races, all of them with finishes in the top 3. He’s run all over the mid-Atlantic, including a solid 3rd-place finish in the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup on Haskell Day. Jockey Junior Alvarado usually has a top race in him on days like this; Cadet Corps could offer just that opportunity.
Comment: likelier type.
5 Alternate Reality. 15/1. Jockey: Brian Hernandez, Jr. Trainer: Joe Sharp.
Here’s your “I heard it from the horse’s mouth” longshot play of the day. I talk with trainers a lot, and some of them lead you where they’d like to go. That happened yesterday when I had trainer Joe Sharp - winner of Churchill’s spring training title - on my radio show yesterday. “Alterante Reality, I’ve been telling people all week this is my longshot play of the day. He’s been working really well… last one in particular. He looks like he can be sitting that perfect pocket trip.” I’ll take the word of the guy who won the training title in the spring, and the jockey who won the Oaks and Derby on back-to-back days in 2024.
Comment: live longshot.
The Sporting Tribune Wager:
$3 Late Pick 3, Starts Race 9 ($96): 3,11,12,13 / 2,5,10,12 / 3,4. Good luck!