It's produced longshot Super Bowl contestants the past two seasons, including champion St. Louis this year. The Rams went from worst to first in the NFC West en route to the title. In horse racing, horses who have never won compete in maiden races. Once they win, they can advance up the competition ladder to allowance races. If those events prove too tough for the horse, a trainer can enter into claiming races.
Stakes races are the highest levels of competition at the track.
Claiming races usually aren't as tough as allowance races, but there is a trade-off. To get into the easier race, a trainer and owner risk losing the horse through the claiming process. That's when another owner purchases the horse out of the race for a set price. It's horse racing's equivalent of the waiver wire in other sports. As in other sports, not everyone is pleased with the schedule.