Zola Bay tops claim tags

Press, 6 December 1989, Page 58

Zola Bay tops claim tags

By

JEFF SCOTT

Zola Bay, which rated 1:59.6 for 2000 m mobile in her success on the final night of the New Zealand Cup meeting last month, has the highest claiming price of $12,000 when claiming races resume at Addington Raceway after a nine-year absence tomorrow evening. The Bluebirds Foods Claiming Mobile Pace, over 2000 m, has drawn nine runners, all with a claiming price not exceeding $15,000. The New Zealand Harness Racing Conference executive have encouraged clubs to reintroduce claiming races in New Zealand, but progress in the south, and in Canterbury in particular, has been slow. Genuine

attempts have been made in the Auckland-Waikato area to run regular ciaimers. The New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club had to abandon a programmed claiming race last month when it was possible only four starters would be left. Claiming races, run since the 1950 s in North America, are ones in which the horse entered can be claimed for an indicated price. A claim for a horse is deposited in a claiming box on-course prior to the start of the race. For the advertised price, the horse, if claimed, then becomes the property of the person who submits the claim. The stakemoney raced for in this particular race

goes to the previous owner, even if a horse is claimed, but the horse is technically the property of the new owner. If the horse is injured in the race he is still the property of the claimant. In the event of more than one claim, the rightful claim is decided by lot. Claiming races enable trainers to effectively handicap their own horses by the amounts they place on them. It is universally agreed that claiming races need to be run oh a regular weekly basis to be run successfully. Therefore, an owner has the opportunity to claim back a horse he has lost if he wishes to at a later date. The last claiming race

at Addington was won by the Bob Negus-trained and driven Scholar on the first night of the 1980 New Zealand Cup meeting.

Tomorrow evening’s field is a mixed bag, but primarily offers the owner a chance of earning more money in a field perhaps of lesser quality than he or she has been racing in. Claiming prices and the assessments of the nine starters are: Kid McCoy (C2), $1000; Sterlo (C 3 $3000; Nat (C 5 $3350, Awakite Dal (C 3 $4000; Innocent Guy (C 5 $6000; Golden Don (C 5 $6000; Special Draught (C2), $10,000; Night Hawk (C 3 $ll,BOO, and Zola Bay (C 3 $12,000.