Frequency of starts for Claimers

Question
I am aware that North American claiming horses race more often than their stakes and allowance counterparts but does any U.S. racing jurisdiction limit the number of starts a claimer can have in a certain time frame e.g.12 months.Surely a 3/4y.o.having 20 or more starts in a year without a spell isn't being given the best opportunity to furnish into a better racehorse.

Answer
There are no limits to the number of races a horse may run in a specific time frame. One exception is a horse can't run twice in one day, except if one of those races is a stakes race. Trainers in the U.S., for some reason feel their horses need 2 weeks between races. I personally will run a horse a few times a week if he is sound and ready, but he will be given a rest if performance declines or a health issue arises. Most condition books repeat a race every 2 weeks and that is another reason horses are not running as often. Younger horses obviously need more time between races than an older, much fitter horse. The restriction of starts is limited by the opportunity to enter certain race conditions that the trainer has picked out. Many horses will run consistently for most of the year and then take a season off. I personally like to rest my horses during the winter months if they have run all through summer and fall.

Christopher Crocker

Crocker Racing Stable and Thoroughbred Horse Racing partnerships

http://CrockerRacingStable.com