When I first started training back in the stone ages of 1999, there were a couple angles that we used to look for in claiming horses. 1 was taking off of the behind the times trainers that didn’t use ulcer meds, wormers, therapy, etc. 2 was claiming grass pedigreed horses that

Hadn’t run on turf (hard to believe but most of the classes below MSW didn’t have turf option then). The third was claiming sprinters with speed that we thought we could stretch out and use that speed as a tactical advantage.
Just a little over 20 years later it’s hard to use

Any of these angles. Trainers have gotten a lot smarter (despite the rhetoric to the contrary). Everyone treats ulcers, uses joint supplements, better shoes, a ton of legal therapies available. There simply aren’t any old timers that wouldn’t do anything extra to help their horse

The proliferation of grass races has completely eliminated the turf pedigreed horses that haven’t been on the grass ever angle. There are plenty of bottom level maiden claimers on grass at a lot of meets.
The third angle is very hard to do these days because it’s increasingly

more difficult to find two turn route races, especially on the dirt that aren’t at the bottom rung claimers or stakes lever.
It’s amazing to think how many times I have heard people saying “well if they stopped going 6f how can they ever get 1 1/16?” which of course shows a

complete lack of understanding of the dynamics of pace, how some horses want to run through the bridle (look for tight reins, not dangling or loose ones) versus having to be asked for speed and how 22-46 can be far more taxing than 24-48, especially for horses lacking confidence

Everyone talks about drugs and juice and move ups and how big trainers are virtually handed every advantage. How a handful of jocks who have the advantage of riding away their mistakes because they are supported by those same big trainers with never ending live mounts all of

which is true BUT there are a lot of subtle changes like the ones that I spoke of that have hurt the game because of a lack of awareness of the consequences of those actions