Selling and claiming races explained

What happens in a selling race?

In a selling race the winner is put up for auction in the winner's enclosure straight after the race, and the owner can bid to keep it, which is known as buying it in.

Selling races, usually shortened to sellers, sit near the bottom of the race programme. They are run on the Flat and, less often, over hurdles in Britain. The race conditions set the weights and the terms of the post-race auction.

If the winner is sold at the auction it leaves its owner, while a winner bought in stays with its connections, and the racecourse takes a commission on any sale. Beaten horses in a selling race can also be claimed, for a price set by their trainer when the race was entered.

How does a claiming race work?

In a claiming race each runner carries a claiming price chosen by its trainer, and after the race any eligible person can claim any runner for that price, whether it won or finished last.

The trainer chooses the claiming price when entering the horse. A low price makes the horse cheaper to take, so a trainer who sets one accepts a real risk of losing it, while a high price protects the horse. That trade-off is the whole design of the race.

The claiming price is fixed at entry, so it is known before the race. A horse running for a low claiming price is therefore a clear sign of how its connections value it, and a high price shows they would rather keep it.

How is a claim made?

A claim is lodged after the race within the time limit set in the rules, and the Rules of Racing also set out what happens when more than one claim is made for the same horse.

The BHA publishes a protocol for claimants, and a person cannot be party to more than one claim for the same horse. A claimed horse that is later sold or passed to an unsuccessful claimant can be barred from racing for six months, and a horse that has just won carries any penalty it earned into its next race.

The detailed rules on who can claim, the deadline, and whether an owner can claim back their own horse are set by the BHA in Britain and the IHRB in Ireland, and they are updated from time to time.

Why do trainers run horses in sellers and claimers?

Trainers use sellers and claimers to find a race a moderate horse can win, accepting that the horse might be sold, or to move on a horse the owner is happy to part with at the right price.

A horse rated too low to win an ordinary handicap may still be one of the best in a seller. Dropping into this grade is a signal that connections want a win more than they want the horse, and the price is set with that in mind. Some trainers, often smaller yards, are active claimers themselves and improve horses picked up this way.

The claiming price is also a public signal. A trainer who sets a low price is telling everyone how the horse is valued, and rival yards read those prices when deciding which horses might be worth taking.

What happens to claimed horses next?

A claimed horse moves to its new trainer immediately and makes its next start for a new yard, usually back in a similar grade, sometimes stepped up if the new stable thinks it has more to offer.

For form readers this is a trainer change with a twist: the new yard chose the horse after seeing it run, and paid a known price. Some trainers are well known for improving claimed horses, while others use claimers mainly to keep their string full.

The free horse yard moves page lists every move since the start of the Flat season with records before and after, so horses leaving a seller or claimer show up there as soon as they run for their new trainer.

Is a claiming race anything to do with a claiming jockey?

A claiming race and a claiming jockey are unrelated: the race lets horses be bought, while a claiming jockey is an inexperienced rider who takes weight off the horse's allotted weight.

Both use the word claim, which causes confusion on racecards. A claiming race lists a claiming price for each horse, often in the conditions or next to the horse. A claiming jockey's allowance appears in brackets after the rider's name, such as (7), meaning the horse carries 7lb less than its allotted weight.

The two can appear together, since claiming jockeys often ride in low-grade races. The weight a horse carries then reflects both the race conditions and the rider's allowance, so always read the final weight rather than the allotted one.

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