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. 5000CL OP 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 5000 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 5000CL OP was carded 18 times for the trot (13) and pace (5), carrying purses from $2,400 to $3,500. The first appearance in this record is Nov 5, 2001 and the last is Oct 25, 2004, 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
Was 5000CL OP raced at the trot or the pace?
Both: trot (13) and pace (5). The figures are race counts, so the condition leaned trot here.
What did 5000CL OP pay?
Purses of $2,400 to $3,500. 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 5000CL OP last appear on a card?
2004-10-25, having first appeared on 2001-11-05. Both dates come from the surviving documents for those days.
What does the class code 5000CL OP 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 5000CL OP carded?
18 races in the recovered record, 2001-11-05 to 2004-10-25. That is a count of surviving charts and entry sheets, so it is a floor rather than a total.