BULLRINGS

Even where good horses gather to compete for sizable purses, as at Fairplex Park, outside of Los Angeles, or at Sportsman's Park, in Chicago, bullrings are sites for minor-league racing. This does not imply the bullrings operate without their special charms.

Numerous handicappers are drawn irresistibly to these ovals of four or five furlongs, which afford them a distinctively fascinating handicapping experience.

Here, in descending order of importance and utility, are the handicapping factors to emphasize:

A double drop in claiming class.
Any drop in claiming price, abetted by tactical speed and an inside post position.
Inside early speed.
Talented bullring riders.
High-rated horses in featured stakes and allowances.
Track class.

Class drops in claiming races below $10,000 are far more meaningful than similar drops at higher selling prices. At the lower levels, class barriers are severe, and more impenetrable.

A class drop from $6000 claiming to $4000 claiming is a huge descent. The corresponding class rise is almost insurmountable. The sharpest $4000 animal on the grounds cannot handle a $6000 horse in acceptable form.

The claiming-class hierarchy below $10,000 at bullrings might be depicted as follows:

$8500
$7500
$6000
$5000
$4000
$3200
$2500
$2000
$1500

As the claiming prices become cheaper, the gradations become tighter. Any double drop amounts to a real change in the pecking order and often will be decisive.