So, when you see a horse dropping in class… especially one who has been close to winning against tougher competition… you might be inclined to bet the horse. But slow down. If it’s a horse who has been competing in stakes company or for large allowance purses… doesn’t a drop into claiming seem odd? If the drop is into a $50,000 claiming race — a pretty big price to pay to claim the horse — that’s one thing… but if a stakes or allowance horse is dropping straight into a lower level claiming race… where it can be claimed away from its previous owner for say, $10,000 - $20,000… proceed with caution. For reference, always check the stats of trainers moving horses up and down the class ladder… on STATS Race Lens, you can track those angles… and identify who generally wins when dropping… and who doesn’t.
In the PPs found in STATS Race Lens, there is a designation using Class Ratings to determine if a horse is moving up or down in class. The designation is found in red text under the Run Style, to the right of the post position number, either Up In Class or Down In Class. A corresponding situational statistic will be found under the trainer name labeled ClassUp or ClassDn. The ClassDn statistics are a good reference to check when a horse is dropping in class based on Class Rating. To identify drops in class for a particular trainer, first in the Create New Angle screen of Manage Search Angles, under PROFILE, select Trainer:Include Trainer List and type in the last name of a trainer and select from the list and click Add Criteria. Under PROFILE, select Horse:Class and then either Racing at a Lower Claiming Price, 50% Claiming Tag Drop, First Time for Tag, MSW to Maiden Clm, or Allowance to Claiming, depending on the type of drop in class you wish to view, then click Add Criteria. Give the angle a name and click Save.
