The sixth renewal of the rich and prestigious Claiming Crown will be held on Saturday, July 17 at Canterbury Park in Minnesota. The deadline for regular and open nominations for Claiming Crown 2004 is Thursday, April 15. The event is limited to horses that have started at least once since July 15, 2003 for a claiming price ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.

The Claiming Crown is returning to Canterbury Park for the fifth time in its six running, with the lone exception being 2002, when the event was held at Philadelphia Park in Pennsylvania. The six-race event will boast guaranteed purses of $550,000 to qualifying claiming horses from around the country.

Often referred to as the "Breeders' Cup for Claiming Horses," the Claiming Crown offers claiming horses that have run for various claiming prices over the course of the previous year to compete for rich purses and prestige. The event offers six races with purses ranging from $50,000 to $150,000 on both turf and dirt. This year's races are:.

The Regular ($100) and Open ($250) nominations deadline is Thursday, April 15. Open nominations hold a spot without identifying a specific horse until the Friday, May 28 identification deadline. Also on May 28, nominations ($500) close, while supplemental nominations (5% of purse) close on Tuesday, July 1.

For a copy of the Claiming Crown 2003 Summary of Conditions form (Adobe PDF format), click here.

For a copy of the Claiming Crown 2003 nomination form (Adobe PDF format), click here.

For more information, call Claiming Crown Coordinator Nat Wess at (800) 340-6361.