What is an optional claimer in horse racing?

The world of horse racing is fraught with weird terminology but even experienced punters can get tripped up over what’s called an optional claimer.

These races have a weird blend of rules designed to attract bettors, as well as giving owners and potential buyers more interest in the race.

If you’re new to horse racing betting then you might never have come across optional claiming races before. Well, now you’re in luck, because Paddy Power is here to tell you all about them!

Optional claimers are found in both the UK and Ireland, as well as across North America. So, let’s have a good look at what’s going on here.

Paddy Power Tips horse racing

WHAT IS AN OPTIONAL CLAIMER?

In order to understand what an optional claiming race is, we need to outline some aspects of horse racing first. An optional claim is effectively a hybrid of two types of horse races: Claiming Races and Allowance Races.

An allowance race fields horses that all meet the same criteria, such as age, previous runs and maximum wins. Allowances are then made to the weight they carry, depending on other criteria like jockey experience and sex of the horse. Allowance races are a step up from claiming races, where horses also run under similar criteria (to improve competitiveness) but crucially are all up for sale. Claiming races often feature inexperienced or ageing runners.

So, if this is a claiming race, then what’s the allowance part about? Well, owners can choose to reduce the weight of their horse in line with their allowances, so long as they agree to the horse being effectively put on the market. Someone else could claim the horse.

You may not even realise an optional claimer is taking place

An owner therefore has to weigh up the possibility of their horse being claimed at a set price against the improved chance of it winning at a reduced weight.

To run as an allowance horse – and therefore not be at risk of being claimed/bought – a horse must meet the race conditions (the set weight).

Meanwhile, owners whose horses have outgrown allowance racing – usually by winning this category of race and going on to better things – can only return to run optional claimers if they agree to be on sale.

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WHY OPTIONAL CLAIMERS EXIST

Optional claiming handicaps exist partially to provide a market for race owners, and also to ensure race organisers can fill racedays. Often it can be complicated to find a competitive number of horses to race at the same standard, on the same day, at the same racetrack.

Allowance races aren’t always the easiest to come by in horse racing, partially because once horses run out of allowance conditions they cannot run in these races again, unless their owners are open to them being claimed. This is the ‘optional’ part of the optional claiming race.

For an owner, running their horse in an optional claimer when they have already progressed from allowance races could be a gamble. After all, what if someone claims their horse before the race?

The reason owners go for optional claimers here may be because they are chasing more wins at a standard they know their horse is comfortable at, or they are eyeing up the prize money. However, some owners may believe their horse has peaked, and so are open to selling.

Meanwhile, claimers give the horse racing industry a steady trade, particularly in the United States. Breeders and owners are always looking to snap up a bargain in claiming races.

Optional claiming handicap betting

BEST OPTIONAL CLAIMING RACE TIPS

If you’re racing betting and want to find value in the odds then take a look at optional claimers. Some horses will be running with allowances, while others won’t. Your job is to understand why some owners are willing to put their horse on the claims market in order to take a weight hit.

Here are some horse racing tips to consider:

Study at the form – If a horse is dropping down to an optional claimer race and has taken a weight allowance then it’s possible that the owner either wants to sell, or record a quick, easy win. Either way, the owner probably isn’t confident in the horse’s long-term prospects. If their form is bad then they’ll need a big weight reduction to challenge for the race win.

Look at past races – It’s not just the form you should be interested in, but other races too. A horse might have run out of allowance conditions but still be struggling to make the grade at higher levels. They therefore may be fielded in optional claiming races to snag wins that it can’t otherwise achieve at a higher level.

Be wary of the odds – Racing odds don’t always reflect the true quality of a horse that is handicapped in an optional claimer. With so many variables going on in this race, accurate odds can be hard to set. There’s therefore a better chance of stumbling across a high-value bet here than in other, simpler types of horse race.

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