Claim to Fame: Ex-claimers that made racing's Hall of Fame

Churchill Downs on Saturday will host the Claiming Crown, an annual tip of the cap to those "blue collar" Thoroughbreds who in the not-so-distant past competed at least once in a claiming race. Most have already graduated to higher levels, whether in starter allowances (which the Claiming Crown events are), allowances, or minor stakes.

While claiming race alumni such as Charismatic, Mine That Bird, and Rich Strike shocked the world in America's most coveted racing prize, the Kentucky Derby (G1), many others through the years took their talents to levels that warranted induction into the sport's Hall of Fame.

Below is a selection of those flat runners that went from Claim to (Hall of) Fame:

Seabiscuit

His legend celebrated in both print and on the silver screen, Seabiscuit competed four times in short claiming dashes of three furlongs and 4 1/2 furlongs as a maiden juvenile in 1935. Eventually a multiple stakes winner for the Phipps family's Wheatley Stable, Seabiscuit achieved greater acclaim once acquired by Charles S. Howard and trainer Tom Smith, earning champion older male honors in 1937 and 1938 and a Horse of the Year title in 1938.

Stymie

Claimed from King Ranch and trainer Max Hirsch for $1,500 out of his third career start in June 1943, Stymie remained a mainstay in the maiden claiming ranks in New York for months. However, once he got into the winning habit, the durable Texas-bred turned into a fan favorite while racing for trainer Hirsch Jacobs and his wife Ethel. Stymie eventually bankrolled more than $900,000, winning 35 times from 131 starts. He was voted champion older male of 1945.

Hillsdale

The most accomplished Thoroughbred ever foaled in Indiana, Hillsdale is one of a select group of Hall of Fame inductees never to have won a division title (though he was certainly qualified to have in 1959). The only horse on this list to have competed in a claiming race at Churchill Downs, he broke his maiden for a $7,500 tag in May 1956, 12 days after finishing unplaced in his debut on Kentucky Derby Day. Hillsdale would eventually win 14 stakes from coast to coast, mostly in Southern California.

Silver Spoon

Silver Spoon's one and only appearance in claiming company, for an $8,000 tag, came in her debut in late September 1958, when she outran 27 juvenile filly rivals down Belmont Park's old, diagonal Widener Course to win by six lengths. Owner-breeder C.V. Whitney then sent the daughter of Citation to Southern California, where she managed to beat the boys in both the Santa Anita Derby and Cinema H. at Hollywood Park. The latter came at the expense of *Tomy Lee, whom she had finished fifth behind in the Kentucky Derby. Silver Spoon was voted co-champion three-year-old filly of 1959.

John Henry

A modestly-bred son of Ole Bob Bowers, John Henry finished no better than third in a trio of $25,000 claiming sprints at Fair Grounds during the winter of 1978. He fared considerably better later that season when winning both claiming starts in New York, one for $25,000 going six furlongs on dirt at Aqueduct and the other for $35,000 in his turf debut at Belmont Park. It was the latter victory, by 14 lengths, which convinced his future connections to concentrate on grass for much of the rest of his long career. When it ended after the 1984 season, John Henry had accumulated four turf male championships, one older male title, two Horse of the Year statuettes, and recognition as the world's leading money winner.

Xtra Heat

Like Silver Spoon, Xtra Heat was a one-and-done in the claiming ranks. Sixteen days after breaking her maiden at Laurel by a neck for a $25,000 tag, Xtra Heat captured the first of her 25 stakes wins, among the most for any filly or mare in racing history. One of the most accomplished female sprinters ever, Xtra Heat also broke precedent in 2001 by becoming the first pure sprinter to earn the three-year-old filly title.

Lava Man

Lava Man competed six times for a tag, ranging from $12,500 to $100,000. He won for that six-figure price as a Grade 1-placed stakes winner in 2005, and then proceeded to terrorize his fellow older males in Southern California over dirt and turf during the next several seasons. At the conclusion of his career in 2009, he had accounted for three wins in the Hollywood Gold Cup (G1) (equaling the record of fellow Hall of Famer Native Diver), two wins in the Santa Anita H. (G1), and a solo triumph in the Pacific Classic (G1).