Chapter 120. Claiming Races
11VAC10-120-10. Generally.
A claiming race is a race in which any horse programmed may be purchased for the designated price by any person holding a permit as an owner, or his authorized agent, or a person holding a claiming certificate issued by the commission. For the purposes of this regulation, "programmed" means the horse's name and designated claiming price are printed in the daily program published by the licensee.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 1, eff. August 14, 1991.
11VAC10-120-20. Claiming certificate.
A person who does not hold a currently valid permit in Virginia or any other jurisdiction as an owner may apply for a claiming certificate. The following provisions shall apply to applicants for claiming certificates:
1. The applicant shall submit an application for a permit as an owner, pay the applicable fee, be photographed and fingerprinted as set forth in 11VAC10-60;
2. The applicant also shall submit a statement designating the trainer who will assume care and responsibility for the horse claimed;
3. The trainer named in the statement must be the holder of a currently valid permit issued by the commission;
4. The claiming certificate may be issued to the applicant which will be valid until the end of the race meeting during which it was approved, but it may be canceled by the stewards for cause; and
5. The applicant shall file the claiming certificate with the racing secretary indicating his eligibility to claim a horse.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 2, eff. August 14, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002.
11VAC10-120-30. Voided claiming certificate.
The holder of a claiming certificate may be issued a permit as an owner upon the completion of a valid claim and the claiming certificate shall be returned to the commission and voided.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 3, eff. August 14, 1991.
11VAC10-120-40. Eligibility to claim.
Only a holder of a permit as an owner, or his authorized agent, or the holder of a claiming certificate may file a claim on a horse programmed to race in a claiming race. The following provisions shall apply to the eligibility of persons filing claims:
1. An authorized agent may only file a claim for an owner for whom he is authorized to act as an agent;
2. A person holding a permit solely as an authorized agent may not file a claim for himself or for any other person for whom he is not authorized to act as agent;
3. An owner, authorized agent or holder of a claiming certificate may file only one claim for any race;
4. An owner may not file a claim for his horse in which the owner or trainer has a financial or beneficial interest, or cause his horse to be claimed, directly or indirectly, for his account; and
5. A partnership, stable name or any other joint venture, despite the number of individual owners comprising such a venture, may file no more than one claim for any race.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 4, eff. August 14, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002.
11VAC10-120-50. Claiming procedure.
A claim may be filed on a horse programmed to race by properly completing a claim slip, including the correct spelling of the horse's name, the date and the race number, sealing the claim slip in an envelope, and depositing the envelope in a locked claims box. The following provisions shall apply to the claiming of a horse:
1. The licensee shall provide claim slips, claim envelopes, and a locked claim box to secure filed claims;
2. The claim slip, enclosed in a sealed envelope, must be deposited in a locked claim box at least 15 minutes before post time of the race for which the claim is filed;
3. The licensee shall provide a clock, and before the sealed envelope is deposited in the locked claim box, the time of day shall be stamped upon the envelope;
4. No money or its equivalent shall be put in the claim box;
5. The person filing the claim must have sufficient funds on deposit with the horsemen's bookkeeper or licensee in not less than the amount of the designated price and applicable sales taxes;
6. The claims clerk shall inform the stewards of a claim filed for a horse and of multiple claims on a horse;
7. The claims clerk shall ascertain that the claim slip and envelope are properly complete;
8. The claims clerk shall ascertain that the person is eligible to claim a horse and inform the stewards immediately of any doubts of the person's eligibility;
9. The claims clerk shall ascertain that there are sufficient funds on deposit with the horsemen's bookkeeper or licensee of not less than the amount of the claim and applicable sales taxes;
10. If more than one valid claim is filed for a horse, then title to the horse shall be determined by lot under the supervision of the stewards or their representative;
11. A claimed horse shall race in the interest of and for the account of the owner from whom the horse was claimed;
12. In the event a horse dies during a claiming race, is euthanized on the racetrack during a claiming race, or suffers an injury that requires euthanasia of the horse performed on the racetrack or in an adjacent area as determined by the commission veterinarian, any claim on that horse will be declared void;
13. A claim is voidable at the sole discretion of the new owner or trainer for a period of one hour after the race is made official for any horse that is vanned off the racetrack after the race at the direction of the commission veterinarian;
14. Upon a successful claim the stewards shall issue a transfer authorization of the horse from the original owner to the claimant. Copies of the transfer authorization shall be maintained by the stewards and the racing secretary. Upon notification by the stewards the horsemen's bookkeeper shall immediately debit the claimant's account for the claiming price, along with applicable taxes and transfer fees, and shall immediately credit the original owner's account with the claiming price;
15. In harness racing, the successful claimant of a horse programmed to start may, at his option, acquire ownership of a claimed horse even though such claimed horse was scratched and did not start in the claiming race from which it was scratched. The successful claimant must exercise his option by 9 a.m. of the day following the claiming race to which the horse programmed and scratched. No horse may be claimed from a claiming race unless the race is contested;
16. A horse that has been claimed shall be delivered to the new owner at the conclusion of the race either at the paddock or at the detention barn, after the completion of any post-race testing;
17. The claimant shall present the former owner with written authorization of the claim from the racing secretary;
18. A positive test result for any prohibited drug is grounds for voiding the claim;
19. The new owner may request that the horse be tested for equine infectious anemia, by taking the horse immediately following the race to the detention barn where a blood sample will be drawn;
20. A positive test result for equine infectious anemia is grounds for voiding a claim;
21. The new owner shall be responsible for filing the change of ownership with the appropriate breed registry;
22. Despite any designation of sex or age of a horse appearing in the daily program or other publication, the person making the claim shall be solely responsible for determining the sex or age of the horse before filing a claim for the horse;
23. Officials and employees of the licensee shall not provide any information as to the filing of the claim until after the race has been run, except as necessary for processing of the claim; and
24. If a horse is successfully claimed by a new owner, the trainer of record at the time of that claiming race must provide that horse's complete corticosteroid and intra-articular injection records for the last 60 days, which shall include the date of the injection, name of the veterinarian performing the injection, articular spaces or structures injected, medication or biologicals used to inject each articular space, and dose in milligrams of each corticosteroid used. Such records shall be completed by the treating veterinarian and be provided to the new trainer within 48 hours of the transfer of the horse. In addition, the owner of a horse shall order production and transfer of all health and medical records held by the individual or veterinarian providing services to the horse owned by them within seven days if the horse is sold, claimed, or transferred to a new owner, or if requested by the commission veterinarian.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 5, eff. August 14, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 26, eff. August 14, 2000; Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002; Volume 30, Issue 8, eff. January 1, 2014; Volume 35, Issue 25, eff. August 5, 2019; Volume 36, Issue 25, eff. July 27, 2020.
11VAC10-120-60. Invalid agreements.
No person shall offer or agree to claim or not to claim, or attempt to prevent another person from claiming any horse in any claiming race. No person shall attempt to prevent another person from entering a horse in a claiming race. No owner or trainer shall make an agreement with another owner or trainer for the protection of each other's horses in a claiming race.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 6, eff. August 14, 1991.
11VAC10-120-70. Voided claims.
The stewards may void any claim that violates the provisions of this regulation. The stewards, in their discretion, may require a person filing a claim to sign a written statement that the claim was made according to the provisions of this chapter.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 7, eff. August 14, 1991.
11VAC10-120-80. Restrictions on a claimed horse.
When a horse is claimed out of a claiming race other than steeplechase races, the following restrictions shall apply to the horse for 30 calendar days after the day that the horse was claimed:
1. The horse may only start in claiming races for a designated price of 25% more than the amount for which the horse was claimed, except in harness racing a horse may start in claiming races for any price;
2. The horse may not be sold or transferred wholly or in part to another person, except in another claiming race;
3. The horse may not remain in the same stable or under the control or supervision of its former owner or trainer, unless reclaimed;
4. Notwithstanding the 30-day restriction above, the horse may not race elsewhere until after the close of the meeting at which it was claimed, except with the permission of the stewards; and
5. All horses claimed in other jurisdictions and racing in Virginia shall be subject to the conditions of the claiming regulation in the jurisdiction where the claim was made.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 8, eff. August 14, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 26, eff. August 14, 2000; Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002; Volume 23, Issue 18, eff. May 31, 2007; Volume 25, Issue 17, eff. May 27, 2009.
11VAC10-120-90. (Repealed.)
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 9, eff. August 14, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 16, Issue 26, eff. August 14, 2000; repealed, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002.
11VAC10-120-100. Disciplinary action.
Failure to comply with the regulations pertaining to claiming of horses or failure to deliver a horse that has been claimed to the successful claimant may subject the permit holder or holder of a claiming certificate to disciplinary action by the stewards.
Statutory Authority
§ 59.1-369 of the Code of Virginia.
Historical Notes
Derived from VR662-04-03 § 10, eff. August 14, 1991; amended, Virginia Register Volume 18, Issue 23, eff. July 1, 2002.
Forms (11VAC10-120)
Claiming Certificate (rev. 8/00).