No need to apologize, and I don't think you sounded mean at all. Until you've eaten one or two like this one, it is kind of hard to be somewhat sympathetic.
When you play the claiming game, you know that if you go digging, you're going to get burned at some point. I could see why someone took a chance on the horse. Sometimes you simply take the chance of calling someone's bluff. If there's nothing wrong with the horse, and by running for $5k he becomes eligible for starters, it's a brilliant move by the owner if he/she can slide the horse by.
Claiming is not for the faint of heart, that's for sure.
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