$1,500 Carcass

At most U. S. racetracks, six out of seven races are claiming races. Started primarily for the purpose of equalizing competition among second-rate horses, claiming races, in which any starter may be bought for a sum fixed before the race, have become a major medium of horse trading. Every year some 2,500 horses and $4,000,000 change hands in claiming races on reputable U. S. tracks. Bulk of the traders are gyp (for gypsy) horsemen,/- migratory trainer-owners who race thoroughbreds for profit rather than sport.

Like most commercial enterprises, the keystone of the horse-racing business is astuteness and luck. A smart gyp (or halterman) picks up a likely horse cheap, tries to put him in shape to win a few purses before he is claimed. Entry fees in claiming races are low, average $10; purses range from $500 to $1,200. Sometimes a halterman develops a plater into a first-class racer, risks the $200 or more entry fee to put him in a rich stake or handicap race.

But a gyp's greatest joy is to fool rival horsemen into claiming a plater that is about to fall apart. Last week at New York's Jamaica Racetrack, grizzled Milo Shields, a seasoned halterman, entered a two-year-old gelding named Staff Sergeant in a $1,500 claiming race.** Staff Sergeant had not won a race in five starts. As the field pounded into the stretch, Owner Shields' heart sank. Staff Sergeant, running in third place, suddenly crumpled up, dead.

Resigned to his bad luck, Milo Shields ambled over to the Racing Secretary's office. There he found that one William Wick had put in a claim for Staff Sergeant. According to the peculiar rules of claiming races, Seller Shields received the $1,500. Buyer Wick received the carcass--and a bill for $25 to have it removed.

/- Not a deprecatory title. **Classifications of claiming races range from $1,000 to $5,000. A $1.500 claiming race means that any horse which leaves the post may be claimed for $1.500. Claims must be made in writing and must be deposited in a box accompanied by check 15 minutes before post time. If more than one claim is in the box lots are drawn to determine the buyer. Any prize money a claimed horse may win in the race goes to the owner who started him, not the new owner.

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