Pennsylvania Code › Title 58 - RECREATION › Part V - Harness Racing Commission › Chapter 183 - RULES OF RACING › CLAIMING RACES › Section 183.151 - Claiming regulations and procedures

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) A current member or associate member of
				  the United States Trotting Association or a current licensee of this or another
				  jurisdiction may claim any horse in a claiming race if the member, associate
				  member or licensee has on credit, with the association conducting the race, an
				  amount equal to the specified claiming price plus the applicable tax and
				  requisite fees for transfer of title.
(b) The association shall provide an
				  automatic time clock which shall be used to stamp the time the claim is filed
				  in the claim box upon the envelope containing the claim.
(c) Claims shall be in writing on forms and
				  in envelopes provided by the association, sealed and deposited in the claim box
				  at least 15 minutes before the time originally scheduled for the race to begin.
				  A person may file only one claim in one race.
(d) The claiming price shall be printed on
				  the program, and all claims shall be for the amount so designated. If more than
				  one claim is filed for the same horse, the successful claimant shall be
				  determined by lot by the presiding judge.
(e) The association shall provide for an
				  agent who shall, immediately after closing the claim box, deliver it to the
				  presiding judge. The association's auditor, or the auditor's agent, shall be
				  prepared to state whether the claimant has on credit, with the association, the
				  amount equivalent to the specified claiming price. A race official may not give
				  information on claims filed until after the race.
(f) If a horse programmed to start in a
				  claiming race is scratched, the horse, on its next start within this
				  Commonwealth, regardless of the conditions of that race, shall be subject to be
				  claimed at the claiming price to which it was subject in the race from which it
				  was scratched. This provision applies for 30 days immediately following the
				  date of the race from which the horse was scratched. The removal of the horse
				  from this jurisdiction shall toll the 30-day period. The 30-day period shall
				  resume when the horse is returned to this jurisdiction.
(g) A horse claimed shall be delivered
				  immediately by the original owner to the successful claimant upon authorization
				  of the presiding judge. The horse's halter shall accompany the horse. Altering
				  or removing the horse's shoes will be considered a violation of this rule.
				  Every horse claimed shall race for the interest and for the amount of the owner
				  who declared it in the event. Title to the claimed horse, subject to the
				  conditions and provisions of subsection (h) and §
										183.152 (relating to blood sample
				  required where horse is claimed), shall be vested in the successful claimant
				  from the word "go." The successful claimant shall become the owner of the
				  claimed horse, whether it be alive or dead, sound or unsound, or injured during
				  the race or after it.
(h) A
				  post-race urine or blood test, or both, shall be taken from each horse claimed
				  out of a claiming race. The claim shall be voidable at the claimant's
				  discretion if the forensic analysis by the Commission's laboratory results in a
				  positive test for a prohibited substance, as provided in §
										183.352 (relating to post-race
				  saliva, urine and blood tests). The claimant shall notify the Presiding Judge
				  in writing within 24 hours of the intention to void the claim and return the
				  claimed horse to the original owner. The claimant shall immediately sign over
				  to the original owner the necessary certificates of ownership of the claimed
				  horse. This subsection does not relieve the original trainer/owner of the
				  responsibility for the condition of the claimed horse during the
				  trainer/owner's control or care or custody of the horse.
(i) The owner of a horse may not claim it, or
				  cause it to be claimed for the owner's account.
(j) Before the claimed horse is delivered,
				  the Presiding Judge may require the successful claimant to execute an affidavit
				  stating that the horse is being claimed for the claimant's account or for the
				  account of a person for whom the claimant is an authorized agent and not for
				  another person.
(k) The presiding
				  judge may void a claim if the horse claimed has impaired eyesight in both eyes
				  or is denerved above an ankle, or if a mare is in foal and the Presiding Judge
				  was not notified before declaration.
(l) If a horse is claimed, no right, title or
				  interest therein may be sold or transferred except in a claiming race for 30
				  days following the date of claiming. The horse may not race at a track other
				  than the track where claimed for 30 days or the balance of the current racing
				  meeting, whichever comes first, unless released by the racing
				  secretary.
(m) The trainer or
				  driver of a horse may not claim that horse.
(n) A person may not offer, or enter into an
				  agreement, to claim, or not to claim, or attempt to prevent another person from
				  claiming, a horse in a claiming race.
(o) There may not be a change in ownership or
				  trainer once a horse is programmed.
(p) A person may not refuse to deliver a
				  horse legally claimed out of a claiming race.
(q) A person may not enter a horse against
				  which there is a mortgage, bill of sale or lien, unless the written consent of
				  the holder of the claim is filed with the clerk of the course of the
				  association conducting the claiming race.
(r) Subject to the conditions of subsection
				  (h) and §
										183.152, the association shall pay
				  the claiming price to the owner at the time the registration certificate is
				  delivered for presentation to the successful claimant.
(s) The successful claimant of a horse who
				  has requested a Coggins test be administered to the horse may not declare or
				  start the horse in future races pending the receipt of a negative
				  test.
(t) Except as provided in
				  §
										183.138(a) and
				  (b) (relating to rejection or declaration), a
				  horse owner is not prohibited from determining the price for which that owner's
				  horse shall be entered.
(u) A claim
				  may not be withdrawn once properly made.
(v) A claiming race may not be offered
				  permitting claims for less than the minimum purse offered at that time during
				  the same racing week.
(w) If the
				  Presiding Judge determines that the declaration or claim of a horse or a
				  claiming race is fraudulent, the Presiding Judge may void the claim. If the
				  Presiding Judge determines that a claim of a horse is fraudulent on the part of
				  the person making the claim, the Presiding Judge may void the claim and may, at
				  the option of the person declaring it in, return the horse to the person
				  declaring it in.
(x) The current
				  registration certificate of horses entered in claiming races shall be on file
				  with the racing secretary together with a separate claiming authorization form
				  signed by the registered owner and indicating the minimum amount for which the
				  horse may be entered to be claimed. To facilitate transfer of claimed horses,
				  the Presiding Judge may sign the transfer but must then send the registration
				  certificate and claiming authorization to the registrar for transfer.
(y) Whenever possible, claiming races shall
				  be written to separate horses 5-year-old and up from young horses and to
				  separate males from females. If sexes are mixed, mares may be given a price
				  allowance.
This section cited in 58 Pa. Code §
												181.1 (relating to
						definitions).