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Kantarmaci Continues Dominance In NYRA’s ‘Under 20s Claiming Challenge’

Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci continued his strong showings in the New York Racing Association's “Under 20s Claiming Challenge” by capturing his fifth straight title in the series at the spring/summer meet at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y.

Launched in 2018, the challenge is open to local trainers with 20 or fewer horses nationwide.

The top-eight trainers in the contest shared a prize pool of $80,000, with Kantarmaci earning the first-place prize of $16,000. It was the second time he's won the “Under 20s Claiming Challenge” at a Belmont meet, with the first coming in the 2019 spring/summer edition.

Kantarmaci tallied 85 points, besting second-place finisher Oscar Barrera, III [67.5 points, $14,000] during the 48-day meet that commenced April 22 and concluded July 11. Antonio Arriaga finished third with 47 points [$12,000], while Michael Miceli was fourth with 30 [$11,000.] Rounding out the top-eight were Randi Persaud [28.5 points, $9,000], Amira Chichakly [27.5 points, $7,000], Robert Klesaris [26.5 points, $6,000] and John Toscano [25 points, $5,000.]

“It feels great. We did really well the last couple of weeks,” Kantarmaci. “In the beginning of the meet, we ran a lot of horses maybe too high a level and high claiming prices, so we were having a hard time getting points. But the last week, we had a lot of main-track horses, and that helped to open up the point distances.”

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For the 2021 Belmont spring/summer, Kantarmaci sent out 50 starters, compiling a 2-9-9 record with earnings of $299,018. He saddled a pair of winners of $45,000 claiming tilts, with Turn of Events on June 27 and Wicked Indeed on July 9.

“We are on the right track with claiming horses,” Kantarmaci said. “Hopefully, we can continue the success at Saratoga. It's a really good program. In the future, if it keeps going, I think it'll be hard for anyone to win it five times in a row like this. It's nice to see my name at the top.”

To retain eligibility, there can be no more than 20 horses on a trainer's roster at any given time, although a trainer's stable may grow above 20 horses through claiming activity. But only roster horses can earn points. A trainer may replace a claimed horse who was on their roster with another claimed horse. After a horse is claimed, it will be added to the trainer's roster only at the trainer's request.

Horses in for a tag in an allowance optional claiming race will qualify for contest points. Points are not earned in maiden, allowance, starter allowance or stakes races.

A horse that ends up on the stewards' list for poor performance [defeated 25 or more lengths] will not earn the trainer points for that race. Horses that are running for 50 percent or less of the claiming price from their most recent start will only be eligible to earn 50 percent of the typical points for that race.

In addition, horses can only earn contest points for two races within a given 30-day time period. A horse may enter in additional races during that timeframe but will not earn contest points for those additional races.

For more information, please contact the racing office at 718-659-4241.

Contest Point Structure:

Dirt Races – All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag:
1st Place – 6 points
2nd Place – 5 points
3rd Place – 4 points
4th Place – 3 points
5th Place – 2 points

Turf Races- All claiming races for winners, including horses in for an optional tag
1st Place – 5 points
2nd Place – 4 points
3rd Place – 3 points
4th Place – 2 points
5th Place – 1 point

Past winners of the Under 20s Claiming Challenge:
2021 Belmont spring/summer – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2020-21 Aqueduct winter – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2019-20 Aqueduct winter – Eddie Barker/Mertkan Kantarmaci (tie)
2019 Belmont spring/summer – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2018-19 Aqueduct winter – Mertkan Kantarmaci
2018 Belmont spring/summer – Eddie Barker

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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Features Action From Saratoga, Woodbine, Monmouth

The New York Racing Association Inc. (NYRA) will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring four graded stakes, with racing action at Saratoga Race Course, Woodbine Racetrack and Monmouth Park.

Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/saratoga/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Monmouth will start the action with the Grade 3, $250,000 Monmouth Oaks for sophomore fillies going 1 1/16 miles in Race 10 at 4:33 p.m. Eastern. Midnight Obsession, the runner-up in the Grade 3 Delaware Oaks on July 3, will look to earn her first stakes win after back-back second-place finishes following two straight wins to begin her career for trainer John Servis. Her stablemate, Leader of the Band, was third in the 1 1/16-mile Delaware Oaks, giving Servis two formidable contenders. Orbs Baby Girl, sixth in the Delaware Oaks, will also compete for trainer Anthony Margotta, Jr. Allworthy, for conditioner Saffie Joseph, Jr., has won her last two starts at Gulfstream Park as she readies for her stakes bow.

The first of three graded stakes at historic Saratoga will start with the Grade 1, $350,000 Alfred G. Vanderbilt Handicap for 3-year-olds and up sprinting six furlongs in Race 8 at 5:03 p.m. Defending Champion Sprinter Whitmore is still a force to reckon with as an 8-year-old, and the Ron Moquett trainee will look to add to his 15 career wins. Accomplishing that feat will be a tall order, as nine-time graded stakes-winner Firenze Fire goes out for trainer Kelly Breen. Firenze Fire has finished fourth in the last two Vanderbilt editions. Lexitonian, sixth in the Grade 1 Metropolitan Handicap on Belmont Stakes Day last month, will look to bounce back for trainer Jack Sisterson.

A seven-furlong turf allowance for fillies and mares 3-and-up will get Woodbine in on the action in Race 9 at 5:17 p.m. Scatter the Clouds, trained by Michael Keogh, was a debut winner on June 27 at Woodbine and will look to go 2-for-2. Queen's Speed, conditioned by Robert Tiller, won back-to-back starts to close out her 2020 campaign and started her 4-year-old year with a runner-up effort on June 26 at Woodbine off the layoff.

Saratoga will close the sequence with the final two legs, as a talented six-horse field of accomplished sophomores will contest the Grade 2, $600,000 Jim Dandy going 1 1/8 miles in Race 9 at 5:39 p.m. The prep for the Grade 1, $1.25 million Runhappy Travers on August 28 will see superstar Essential Quality make his first start since winning the Grade 1 Belmont Stakes last month. The reigning Champion 2-Year-Old has won six of his seven career starts, tallying three Grade 1 scores, and his only loss was a competitive fourth in the Grade 1 Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs. Essential Quality, whose juvenile year helped earn Brad Cox the Eclipse Award as Outstanding Trainer in 2020, will go up against Weyburn, Dr Jack, Masqueparade, Keepmeinmind and Risk Taking.

The finale will be the Grade 2, $250,000 Bowling Green for 4-year-olds and up going 1 3/8 miles on the Saratoga inner turf in Race 10 at 6:13 p.m. Channel Cat, one of three sons of English Channel entered for Saturday's 63rd renewal, won the 2019 Bowling Green and will look to tally another one for conditioner Jack Sisterson. Bill Mott, who is tied with fellow Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher for most Bowling Green victories with four, will saddle a trio of contenders, including the reigning Champion Turf Male Channel Maker, graded-stakes winner Red Knight and multiple graded-stakes placed Moon Over Miami.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool.

The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, July 31:
Leg A: Monmouth – Race 10, G3 Monmouth Oaks (4:33 p.m.)
Leg B: Saratoga – Race 8, G1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt (5:03 p.m.)
Leg C: Woodbine – Race 9 (5:17 p.m.)
Leg D: Saratoga – Race 9, G2 Jim Dandy (5:39 p.m.)
Leg E: Saratoga – Race 10, G2 Bowling Green (6:13 p.m.)

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Saratoga’s Racing and Gaming Conference Set to Return

After a two-year absence, the Racing and Gaming Conference is back. The two-day conference will kick off Aug. 16 and will be held in the 1863 Club on the grounds of Saratoga Race Course.

With the goal of examining industry trends and challenges facing the sport, the conference was known for bringing together notable industry leaders from across a wide spectrum, including racing officials, regulators and politicians. This year, more than 40 gaming and racing industry professionals will participate in 14 sessions as speakers and panelists throughout the two days.

The conference will begin with a panel called “Putting on the Big Show, What's New and What's Next at NYRA,” which will feature David O'Rourke, the chief executive officer and president of the New York Racing Association. That will be followed by a session entitled “Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act: What is in it and Why is it important to the Industry?” It will be moderated by Bennett Liebman, Government Lawyer in Residence at Albany Law School, and the panelists will be Alan Foreman, Pat Cummings and Pete Sacopulos. Monday's agenda also includes what should be an important look at the “decoupling” problem. Decoupling is an effort by casino companies to keep their gaming licenses without having to conduct live racing.

On the 16th, Bill Pascrell III, Partner, Princeton Public Affairs Group, will host a panel called “Parimutuel Wagering in the New Sports Betting Landscape.” Panelists will include Dennis Drazin, who heads the management team at Monmouth Park and played an integral role in the fight to overturn The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act.

Patrick Brown, co-founder of the Brown & Weinraub law firm in Albany and who serves as a member of the Albany Law School, Government Law Center Advisory Board, will serve as conference director after having been a conference participant for many years. Brown has worked extensively with Leibman, who ran the conference while it was under the direction of the Albany Law School.

To learn more about the conference got to https://racingandgamingsaratoga.com.

The post Saratoga’s Racing and Gaming Conference Set to Return appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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NYRA To Honor Late Bruce Johnstone On Whitney Day

The New York Racing Association, Inc. (NYRA) announced Wednesday that it will honor the legacy of Bruce Johnstone during Whitney Day on Saturday, August 7 at Saratoga Race Course.

NYRA will honor the late horseman by bestowing the “Bruce Johnstone Best Turned Out Horse Award” to the groom of the horse deemed by NYRA racing officials to be best presented in the paddock ahead of the Grade 1, $500,000 Longines Test. The winning groom will receive a $150 gift card.

Johnstone, who passed at age 76 on February 6, 2020 following a lengthy battle against cancer, transitioned from a successful career as a trainer to management at NYRA, where he spent the last 13 years of his career as Manager of Racing Operations.

At NYRA, Johnstone served as the bridge between management, horsemen, and riders, working with everyone from the stewards to jockeys, the gate crew, outriders, and anyone else connected to racing. Imposing at 6'4″ and with a deep, baritone voice, Johnstone stood out for his commanding presence at the track and for his knowledge, wise counsel, experience, and diplomacy in times of stress.

“Bruce was a true horseman who used the lessons of a lifetime to make all of us better in so many big and small ways,” said NYRA President & CEO Dave O'Rourke. “He was a man of impeccable integrity who was a beloved member of the Thoroughbred racing community here in New York and around the country. Bruce was universally admired for all the right reasons –and he is missed.”

NYRA created Johnstone's position when he joined the organization in 2007.

“If I'm talking to a trainer, I know what they're saying,” he said of his duties in a 2018 interview. “I'll know how to address a concern or an issue. I have an office, but that's not where I live.”

Instead, Johnstone could often be found in the paddock, on the edge of the track, the backstretch or the barn area, navigating between groups and attending to any and all issues. Those issues could range from something as basic as a sauna without hot water to immediate decisions needing to be made on whether to postpone or cancel racing in poor weather conditions and ensuring the horses were adequately hydrated and sponged down in hot weather.

In 1974, Johnstone went to work at the Phipps Stable with accomplished trainer John Russell and Hall of Famer Angel Penna. Johnstone took out his own training license in 1980. Among his career highlights were wins with Secrettame in the 1983 Shirley Jones Stakes at Gulfstream Park and Buck Aly in the 1986 Bay Shore Stakes (G2).

Secrettame, a daughter of Triple Crown winner Secretariat, was campaigned by Venezuelan owner Jose “Pepe” Sahagun and his Villa Blanca Farms.

While at NYRA, Johnstone also served from 2018-19 as chairman of the famed Aiken Training Center in Aiken, S.C.

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, Calif., Johnstone attended the University of California at Berkeley on an athletic scholarship as a swimmer and a water polo player, and also played rugby. After earning a degree in International Relations and Diplomacy, Johnstone was recruited by the U.S. Coast Guard for the Special Coastal Forces Program, an elite group of college graduates who had been Division 1 athletes.

It was through time spent with his father, Charles “Sandy” Johnstone, a New York-based veterinarian, that he turned to horse racing. Visiting his father in both New York and Kentucky, Johnstone, in his mid-20s, became smitten with Thoroughbreds to the point where he made it his new career.

“I got the bug with horses,” Johnstone said in the 2018 interview. “It must have been the pedigree. So I packed up my orange VW van and my two dogs and headed to Kentucky.”

In 1972, Johnstone joined trainer Victor J. “Lefty” Nickerson at Elmendorf Stable, where he was a part of one of racing's biggest upsets, Big Spruce's victory over Forego in the 1974 Marlboro Cup at Belmont Park.

“I live racing seven days a week,” Johnstone said in 2018. “And when I go to the neighborhood bar to get away from it, I find that people want to talk about what I do—not their jobs, but mine. That's always fun—and it makes me realize how much I enjoy this life.”

Johnstone is survived by his daughter, Kelly Johnstone.

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