Saturday, February 11, 2012, at 2 p.m.

For starters, the two permanent pages, "Booklists 1997–2012" and "Coming Up!," have been updated and can be linked to by clicking the links in the left-hand sidebar. If you have not noticed them before, check them out. Also, I am trying to put together a page of links to search in order to come up with book selections. Any suggestions for sites will be appreciated.

Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon

First of all, a couple of months back, I posted a link that Linda had forwarded, which will take you to an article in Grantland about the decline of horse racing in America. If you missed that at the time, check it out now.

Second of all, I needed to find a definition for "claiming race" as I have always wondered what that meant since I was a child and they used to have horse racing on TV all the time. The quotation in the front of the book from Ainslie's did not clear that up entirely for me either. Here is a definition from the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association:

Claiming races constitute the majority of Thoroughbred races. Each horse entered in such a race is subject to sale, or claim, at the value stated in the conditions of the race. However, all purse money earned is the property of the person in whose name the horse started.

The primary advantage to claiming is that it offers immediate racing action. Likened to purchasing a used car, the buyer may be obtaining a horse which, with a change in training routine, may develop and excel or may turn out to be nothing more than a lemon. Unlike purchasing a horse at public auction or privately, the buyer is not entitled to perform a veterinary examination prior to the purchase.

If you elect to pursue this option, you should employ a trainer who excels in this aspect of the business. With your trainer, devise a strategy for selecting potential claims.

As the quote in the front of the books clarifies, this is to keep the owners honest, to keep them from only running their horses against horses of lesser quality.

Jaimy Gordon talks about Lord of Misrule