<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<regulation prefix="Regulation" num=".07" citation="COMAR 09.10.01.07" title_num="09" subtitle_num="10" chapter_num="01" heading="Claiming.">
  <paragraph num="A.">
    <text>Except as provided in §A-1 of this regulation, in claiming races a horse is subject to claim for its entered price by:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>A licensed owner;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>An individual authorized to claim in behalf of a registered stable or other multiple ownership entity; or</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>A registered authorized agent in behalf of a person listed in §A(1) or (2) of this regulation.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="A-1.">
    <text>In claiming races a horse is not subject to claim if:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>The horse has not started for a minimum of 120 days;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>The last start of the horse was a claiming race;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>The horse is entered for a claiming price not less than the claiming price of its last start;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>For the first race following the period specified in §A-1(1) of this regulation, the horse is declared ineligible to be claimed at the time of entry; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(5)">
      <text>The program clearly designates that the horse is ineligible to be claimed.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="B.">
    <text>Eligibility to Claim.</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Except as provided in §B(2) and (3) of this regulation, to be eligible to claim, a licensed owner, registered stable, or other multiple ownership entity shall designate, as the person who will assume control and responsibility of a claimed horse, a licensed trainer who has been assigned stabling on grounds under the jurisdiction of the Commission.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>A licensed owner, registered stable, or other multiple ownership entity that does not have a licensed trainer with assigned stabling on grounds under the jurisdiction of the Commission is eligible to claim only to replace a horse lost to a claim at a track under the jurisdiction of the Commission.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>A trainer who is also licensed as an owner, and whose trainer's license is suspended, is not eligible to claim a horse as an owner during the term of the suspension.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="C.">
    <text>A person shall not be eligible to claim more than one horse in a race, either directly or through another.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="D.">
    <text>A valid claim shall:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Be in writing on a form provided by the association;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Be in the name of a person qualified to claim a horse;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Be signed by the person, or the agent of the person, in whose name the claim is made;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Contain the name of the horse to be claimed in a manner sufficient to avoid confusion with the name of another horse in the race;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(5)">
      <text>Name the trainer who will assume control and responsibility of the horse to be claimed;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(6)">
      <text>Be for the amount printed in the program as the claiming price of the horse;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(7)">
      <text>Be enclosed in a sealed envelope, provided by the association, which shall contain no identifying marks on its outside other than the number of the race in which the claimed horse is to participate;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(8)">
      <text>Be deposited in a lock box of the claims clerk at least 10 minutes before the post time for the race in which the claimed horse is to participate; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(9)">
      <text>Be supported by funds on deposit at the association in the name of the claimant in an amount sufficient to cover the cost of the claim, any taxes to which the claim may be subject, and 1.5 percent of the claiming price, which shall be paid to the horse retirement program approved by the organization representing the majority of horsemen.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="E.">
    <text>After the deadline for entering a claim has passed, the stewards or their designee shall:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Open the claim envelopes for the race;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>If the same trainer is named on more than one claim form, conduct a drawing of those forms, which results in the trainer being named on only one claim form;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>After ascertaining compliance with §§D and E of this regulation, if there is more than one valid claim for a horse, conduct a drawing to determine the successful claimant; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Notify the Racing Secretary of the identity of the successful claimant and the horse claimed.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="F.">
    <text>The stewards may require a person who submits a claim for a horse in a claiming race to make an affidavit declaring that the person is claiming the horse for the person's own account or for the account of another as the registered authorized agent for that person.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="G.">
    <text>If the stewards determine that a horse was improperly entered in a claiming race, they may:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Void a claim of the horse;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Order the claiming monies, including all taxes, refunded to the claimant through the Clerk of the Course, the horsemen's bookkeeper, or otherwise; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Order the return of the horse to the original owner.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="H.">
    <text>Except as provided in §H-1 or H-2 of this regulation, unless there is a violation of this regulation by the claimant, or the stewards determine that a horse was improperly entered:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>The claim is irrevocable and the claimed horse becomes the property of the successful claimant from the time the horse is a starter; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>A purse earned in the race from which a horse is claimed is the property of the owner from whom the horse is claimed.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="H-1.">
    <text>A claim shall be voided if a horse is a starter and the horse:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Dies on the racetrack; or</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Suffers an injury which requires the euthanasia of the horse, as determined by a State veterinarian, while the horse is on the racetrack.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="H-2.">
    <text>A claim is voidable at the sole discretion of the new owner, for a period of 1 hour after the race is made official, for any horse that:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Is vanned off the track after the race at the discretion of the State Veterinarian; or</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Is sent to the detention barn and observed to be lame by the State Veterinarian.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="I.">
    <text>After the race has been run, the successful claimant shall present verification of the claim by the Racing Secretary to the person accompanying the claimed horse.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="J.">
    <text>A properly claimed horse shall be delivered to the successful claimant in the:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Paddock, immediately after the running of the race, if the horse is not subject to post-race testing; or</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Detention area, after the horse has undergone post-race testing, if the horse is subject to that testing.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="K.">
    <text>If a trainer refuses to deliver a horse that has been claimed to the successful claimant when verification of the claim is presented in accordance with §I of this regulation, the:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Trainer is subject to sanctions; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Claimed horse shall be disqualified from participating in further racing until delivery is made.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="L.">
    <text>In claiming races, the following acts, or an attempt to commit the following acts, are prohibited:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>An agreement to claim, or not to claim, a horse belonging to another owner;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Preventing an owner from:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>Claiming a horse, or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Legitimately running a horse in a race;</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>The claiming of a horse by:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>The owner of the horse,</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>Another person for the account of the owner of the horse, or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>One owner from another if the trainer of the horse to be claimed trains a horse owned by the entity making the claim; and</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>The entry of a horse if there is:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>A lien or other encumbrance affecting the transfer of title to the horse unless there is written permission from the holder of the lien or other encumbrance, attached to the horse's foal certificate, allowing the horse to be entered in a claiming race,</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>An ownership dispute, or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>One owner from another if the trainer of the horse to be claimed trains a horse owned by the entity making the claim; and</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="M.">
    <text>If a horse is claimed:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>The horse shall not be eligible to start in a claiming race for less than 25 percent more than the claiming price for a period of 20 days from the date of the claim;</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>For the period of the 21st through the 30th day after the horse is claimed, the horse may only start in a claiming race at a price equal to or greater than the amount for which it was claimed; and</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>For the period after the 30th day after the horse is claimed, the horse may start in a claiming race at any claiming price.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>The horse may not be sold or transferred to anyone, wholly or in part, for a period of 30 days from the day of the claim, except:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>In a claiming race, or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>When the horse is entered and starts for a claiming price which would cause the horse to become ineligible to be entered at Laurel or Pimlico;</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Unless reclaimed, the horse may not remain in the same stable or under the control or management of its former owner or trainer for a period of 30 days from the day of the claim;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>It may not race outside of Maryland for a period of 60 days from the day of the claim except:</text>
      <paragraph num="(a)">
        <text>To participate in a stakes race;</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(b)">
        <text>To participate in a claiming race for a price which would cause the horse to become ineligible to be entered at Laurel or Pimlico; or</text>
      </paragraph>
      <paragraph num="(c)">
        <text>During the scheduled absence of a live thoroughbred race meet in Maryland for at least 15 days.</text>
      </paragraph>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="N.">
    <text>For the purposes of §M of this regulation, the day of the claim does not count in computing the time restrictions.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="O.">
    <text>The stewards shall report action taken by them, in reference to a violation of this regulation, to the Commission which may, in its discretion, take any further action it considers appropriate.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="P.">
    <text>A horse which was claimed in another state and entered to race in this State remains subject to the conditions of the claiming regulation in the state where the claim was made until those conditions expire.</text>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="Q.">
    <text>Notwithstanding information printed in the program or other racing publications, the claimant is solely responsible for determining the horse's:</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>Age;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>Breeding;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Physical condition;</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>Racing record; and</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(5)">
      <text>Sex.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
  <paragraph num="R.">
    <text>National Steeplechase and Hunt Association.</text>
    <paragraph num="(1)">
      <text>At race meetings conducted by the Cecil County Breeders' Fair, Inc., claiming races shall be run under the conditions of the Rules of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association, Part XXIII, Rule 203, N.B., as amended 1972.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(2)">
      <text>For the purpose of defining a “meeting” as it applies to the eligibility of an owner to make a claim, all meetings sanctioned by the Hunts Committee of the N. S. &amp; H. A. conducted between January 1st and June 30th of any one calendar year shall be deemed to be “one meeting”, and all meetings conducted between July 1st and December 31st of any one calendar year shall be deemed to be “one meeting”.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(3)">
      <text>Each person desiring to make a claim, unless he has the amount to his credit with the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association, shall first deposit at the office of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association the whole amount of the claim in cash, for which a receipt will be given; but any owner who is eligible to make a claim may do so without having the necessary funds on deposit as outlined above, provided that he delivers to an authorized representative of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association at the race course not later than 30 minutes before post time of the 1st race of the meeting at which the claim is to be made, funds which are sufficient to cover the whole amount of the claim. These funds shall be in the form of a cashier's, treasurer's, or certified check only.</text>
    </paragraph>
    <paragraph num="(4)">
      <text>A horse which has been claimed may not race, other than at race meetings sanctioned by the Hunts Committee of the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association, until after the close of the meeting at which it was claimed, or for a period of 30 days, whichever comes first.</text>
    </paragraph>
  </paragraph>
</regulation>