Oaklawn, which last season reported 691 claims for $13.9 million in transactions, has a new policy in place to help owners who lose a horse through the claim box have a good chance to get one back, said Oaklawn racing secretary Pat Pope.  

This meet, when an owner loses a horse he gets a preference privilege the following Tuesday. It gives the owner an option of checking a box on the claim slip indicating a desire to use the preference when going in for another horse. 

Pope said if there are 20 claims in for a horse and three slips have the preference box checked, the shake would be between the three owners who utilize their preference.  

“If you don’t claim the preference, you don’t get the preference,” said Pope, noting owners choose when to apply it.