The nomination schedule and forms for the 2011 running of the $500,000 Claiming Crown are now available on the newly redesigned ClaimingCrown.com website (www.claimingcrown.com), and nominations are now being accepted by Claiming Crown Ltd.

The 13th renewal of the Claiming Crown will be held at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans Dec. 3.

The 2011 Claiming Crown will consist of six stakes races with starter allowance conditions for horses that have started for a claiming price since January 1, 2010 in a race restricted to Thoroughbreds at a recognized North American racetrack. Each race is associated with a specific claiming level, and to be eligible for that event, a horse must have started at the associated claiming level or lower at least once since January 1, 2010.

The 2010 Claiming Crown races will be (associated claiming level in parenthesis):
• $50,000 Iron Horse: for 3-year-olds and up going 8 1/2 furlongs on dirt ($7,500)
• $50,000 Express: for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on dirt ($7,500)
• $75,000 Glass Slipper: for 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, going six furlongs on the dirt ($16,000)
• $75,000 Rapid Transit: for 3-year-olds and up going six furlongs on the dirt ($16,000)
• $100,000 Emerald: for 3-year-olds and up going 8 ½ furlongs on the turf ($25,000)
• $150,000 Jewel: for 3-year-olds and up going nine furlongs on the dirt ($35,000)

Regular ($100) and open ($250) nominations for the 2011 Claiming Crown close on Friday, Aug. 26, while $500 nominations close Oct. 21. Also on Oct. 21, nominators must identify the horse(s) they made eligible through any open nominations. Supplemental nominations (5% of the race’s purse) will be accepted through Friday, Nov. 18.

Patterned after the Breeders’ Cup, Claiming Crown was designed to reward Thoroughbred racing’s “blue-collar” horses and offer races at varying distances on both dirt and turf. This will mark the first time Fair Grounds has hosted the event, which debuted at Canterbury Park in Shakopee, Minn. in 1999.

Canterbury has hosted 10 of the first 12 renewals of the event. The Claiming Crown was held at Philadelphia Park (now Parx Racing) in Bensalem, Pa. in 2002 and at Ellis Park in Henderson, Ky. in 2007.

For more information about Claiming Crown please visit www.claimingcrown.com.