What It Means
A class code is the racing secretary's shorthand for who was allowed to enter. It is set down in the program unexplained, because the horsemen reading it already know the grammar. 2500CL breaks into parts, and each part narrows the field a little further.
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| CL | claiming: every starter may be bought for the stated price shortly after the race |
The figure 2500 in the code is the money threshold itself. Read together with the letters above, it is what separates a horse that may enter from one that has won too much to be eligible any longer.
In the programs held here 2500CL was carded 14 times for the pace (14), carrying purses from $1,600 to $4,000. The first appearance in this record is Oct 22, 2001 and the last is Nov 13, 2001, which gives a rough sense of how long the racing office kept the condition in rotation.
Conditions like this one are the machinery that keeps a small meeting competitive. Rather than grading horses by an official rating, the secretary writes an eligibility sentence and lets the entries sort themselves out. A card at a regional track therefore carries far more distinct class codes than an outsider would ever expect to find.
Race Days Carrying This Condition
Questions about this condition
What did 2500CL pay?
Purses of $1,600 to $4,000. Purse is the money on offer for the race, split by finishing position, and it is the most reliable indicator of where a condition sat relative to the rest of the card.
When did 2500CL last appear on a card?
2001-11-13, having first appeared on 2001-10-22. Both dates come from the surviving documents for those days.
What does the class code 2500CL mean?
It is a set of eligibility conditions, not a grade. Read in parts: CL — claiming: every starter may be bought for the stated price shortly after the race.
How often was 2500CL carded?
14 races in the recovered record, 2001-10-22 to 2001-11-13. That is a count of surviving charts and entry sheets, so it is a floor rather than a total.
Was 2500CL raced at the trot or the pace?
Only at the pace — all 14 races.