Did You Know.....
California boasts the healthiest and most successful horse racing industry in North America: it employs 30,000 people, has generated $3.5 billion dollars in revenue, and is the state´s tenth-largest industry. A claim is legally invalid if the name of the horse is misspelled on the claim form.

No owner (or his/her representative) with a horse in a race can place any form of wager on any other horse TO WIN in that race (this rule even extends to all permutations of "exotic wagers").

At certain tracks (especially in Northern California), on-site stabling of your horse for a specified period is a condition for eligibility in certain races. The Jockey Club "foal registration certificate," updated with your name as current owner, must be on file with the Racing Secretary before your horse can be entered in a race. In the event that you buy or claim a horse and discover that the horse´s papers have been destroyed or lost, arrangements must be made through the Horse Identification Office to obtain duplicates. [see Sample Forms & Charts, Figure 7, for sample registration certificate]. The fee due the jockey who will be riding your horse in a race must be on account with the track´s Paymaster of Purses before your horse can start. No horse can be entered in more than one race per day (sweepstakes races included).

Though rules vary from track to track, no matter how many partners (or syndicate members) have a share in a given horse, it may be that only six entry credentials, or horsemen´s pass, will be issued to that horse´s owners.

Notes: If their are numerous owners, the Clerk of Course will usually ask the trainer to specify which owners are to receive a credential. Also, some tracks will issue parking passes and license validation stickers to all the horse´s owners, no matter how many there are.) The Stewards have the right to withdraw or scratch any horse (at any point before the start of the race) which they deem "not qualified" for the race in which it has been entered.

In any race, the stewards or the CHRB can order a purse, award or prize withheld from distribution (indefinitely) pending the determination of a protest of any kind. If any purse, award or prize has already been distributed to an owner for a horse which is later disqualified, the stewards or the CHRB may order that the money be returned and re-distributed to the rightful owner of the "winning" racehorse.

No more than two horses of the same interest or from the same trainer may be entered in any race except a sweepstakes or handicap race. Your trainer can enter the horse of another owner he or she trains for in the same sweepstakes or handicap that your horse is entered in, unless you pre-contract with the trainer not to pursue this practice.

An owner or trainer who has a horse (or horses) stabled on the grounds of a track with a current race meet can be granted check-cashing privileges, provided proper paperwork is filled out (and verified by your bank), and provided you can present a valid CHRB license.