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They may not have the star power of a Stakes winner, but Hastings’ blue-collar claimers are the real lifeblood of the track
Published Sep 25, 2025 • 3 minute read
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Somthing Elusive, ridden here by Kerron Khelawan, is still looking for his first win of the season at Hastings Racecourse. Michael Bye photo Photo by Michael ByeArticle content
It may be a contest for horses who haven’t managed to win this year, or have won no more than four times during their entire careers, but Saturday’s third race at Hastings is as important to the success of the track as any number of glamorous Stakes events.
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Only two of the six horses entered for the mile-and-sixteenth contest have managed to win this season although, between them, they’ve competed in 48 races, adding much-needed depth to assembled fields and, in turn, helping to boost betting turnover — the lifeblood of the sport.
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Lower-level claiming contests are the bedrock of racing in most jurisdictions and the blue-collar horses who contest these types of events are venerated by those responsible for their welfare.
“The lower-level races are our meat and potatoes,” trainer Steve Henson said this week. “They help to keep the show on the road. Without them we’d be sunk.”
Henson, who saddled the B.C. Derby winner just two weeks ago, has entered There Goes My Hero and Time Ticker in Saturday’s “non-winners on the year.” He will also tighten the girth on Quagmire, who makes his 58th career start at the weekend in a similarly low-level affair where each of the eight horses entered will run with a claiming tag of between $3,500 and $5,000.
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Veteran trainer Harold Barroby agrees that lower-level races are essential, both for the track and for connections of the horses. “Races such as the one this weekend for horses who haven’t won yet this season are very important,” he explained. “Not just for the horses, but for the trainers and the owners, as well. They’re not bad horses, they just haven’t been able to win yet for any number of reasons.”
Somthing Elusive is one such horse. Known as Eli to his friends, the six-year-old gelding has been placed four times this year without winning and will make his 35th career start on Saturday.
“He’s a horse who needs everything to go right for him on the day and for one reason or another that hasn’t happened this year. He’s been close a couple of times but so far hasn’t managed to get his head in front,” said Eli’s part owner and dedicated carer, Bruce Conley.
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More widely, Conley believes lower-level races more than punch their weight when it comes to entertaining the fans and helping to generate much needed betting turnover, or handle.
He said: “These types of races aren’t just important for the horses and their connections, but they are often more competitive contests than some of the more valuable races, which means they are great betting races for the fans. They often attract good-sized fields, with horses dropping down in class to participate and the horses aren’t as consistent as the higher claimers and allowance-class horses. Eli’s last race saw a long shot finish in first and second.”
Conley is right. Bettors wagered more than $21 million on racing at Hastings in 2024, with a substantial part of that turnover coming from races at the lower end of the class ladder. Four of Saturday’s six heats are claiming contests for runners valued between $3,500 and $7,500 and they will also provide connections of 26 of the day’s 38 entered horses with an opportunity to race.
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Equally importantly, those four races will generate the lion’s share of the day’s betting turnover. That means, when the blue-blooded stars return to the track next weekend for two more valuable Stakes contests, they will be racing for purses provided in large part by their less talented barn-mates. So much for trickle-down economics.
Hastings Selections:
Saturday, Sept. 27. First race: 2:30 .m.
Race 3. Our Bloke has already won twice this season and lines up here on the back of an Emerald Downs victory in a similar contest.
Race 4. Pickledagain, who has the added benefit of leading rider Amadeo Perez in the saddle, drops in class and should be more at home in this company.
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