FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jason Boulet, Racing Secretary
Fair Grounds
Phone: (504) 948-1246
Email: Jason.Boulet@fgno.com
Rapid Redux Tops 128 Nominees for the 2011 Claiming Crown
Lexington, KY - Tuesday October 25, 2011 – Nominations closed on Friday,
October 21 for the 2011 running of the $500,000, six-race Claiming Crown, which
is scheduled for Saturday, December 3 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. A
total of 128 horses were nominated, topped by Rapid Redux.
Rapid Redux, a five-year-old gelding owned by Robert Cole and trained by
David Wells, will be attempting to tie 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta and New
Mexico-bred standout Peppers Pride for most consecutive wins (19) by a U.S.-
based horse since 1900 in a seven furlong starter allowance race this Thursday at
Laurel Park. Claimed for $6,250 last fall by Wells and Cole, the son of Pleasantly
Perfect has won 18 straight in the starter allowance ranks at seven tracks across
the Mid-Atlantic.
Supplemental nominations (five percent of the race’s purse) will be accepted for
the Claiming Crown races through Friday, November 18, 2011.
Pre-Entries for the six 2011 Claiming Crown races will be taken on Monday,
November 21, at which time nominated horses must be declared for a specific
race. Final entries for the races will be taken on Wednesday, November 30.
The Claiming Crown is a partnership between the National Horsemen's
Benevolent and Protective Association and the Thoroughbred Owners and
Breeders Association. Patterned after the Breeders’ Cup, the Claiming Crown was
designed to reward Thoroughbred racing’s “blue-collar” horses and offer races at
varying distances on both dirt and turf. This will mark the first time Fair Grounds
has hosted the event, which debuted at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minnesota
in 1999. Canterbury has hosted 10 of the first 12 renewals of the event. The
Claiming Crown was held at Philadelphia Park (now Parx Racing) in Bensalem,
Pennsylvania in 2002 and at Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky in 2007. For more
information about Claiming Crown please visit www.claimingcrown.com.
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest racetrack, has been in
operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds is owned by
Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN); it also
operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 10 off-track betting parlors
throughout southeast Louisiana. The 84-day 140th Thoroughbred racing season,
running November 24, 2011 to April 1, 2012, is highlighted by the 99th renewal of
the Grade II, $1 million Louisiana Derby on closing day. Information about Fair
Grounds can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.
TOBA, based in Lexington, Kentucky, was formed in 1961 and is a national trade
organization of Thoroughbred owners and breeders. TOBA's mission is to
"improve the economics, integrity and pleasure of the sport on behalf of
Thoroughbred owners and breeders." Projects managed by TOBA include the
American Graded Stakes Committee, The Racing Game, Sales Integrity Program
and Claiming Crown. TOBA is the owner of The Blood-Horse Inc., and is
represented on the Board of Directors of the National Thoroughbred Racing
Association as a founding member.
The National HBPA (www.nationalhbpa.com), based in Lexington, Kentucky, is
the largest racing horsemen’s representative association in North America, with
30 affiliate organizations and over 30,000 member horsemen. Big Dee’s Tack &
Vet Supplies, Equineline.com, and Horseman Labor Solutions are proud
corporate partners of the National HBPA.