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Aqueduct: Under 20’s Claiming Challenge Returns For Winter, SPring Meets

The Under 20's Claiming Challenge will return for the upcoming winter and spring meets at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The program, launched in 2018 and open to local trainers with 20 or fewer horses nationwide, will begin on Thursday, December 9, Opening Day of the Aqueduct winter meet which runs through Sunday, March 27. The Claiming Challenge will come to a close at the conclusion of the 15-day Big A spring meet, which spans Thursday, March 31 through Sunday, April 24.

The top-eight trainers in the contest will share a prize pool of $80,000, with the winner receiving $16,000. Stall allotments for the Aqueduct winter meet, along with those at the Saratoga and the Belmont fall meets, will be used to determine eligible trainers.

Trainers earn points based on their horses' performances in all winners' claiming races on the main track at Aqueduct from December 9 through the end of the Big A spring meet. Points will be tallied and records verified on May 23, and awards will be granted thereafter.

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. Trainers who had 21 or more stalls allotted in either of the previous two race meets will be ineligible for this year's contest.

Not all horses will be eligible for the contest, and 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 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.

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 turf 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 points

Trainer Bonuses:
The top-eight trainers in the contest will share in a prize pool of $80,000:
1st Place – $16,000
2nd Place – $14,000
3rd Place – $12,000
4th Place – $11,000
5th Place – $9,000
6th Place – $7,000
7th Place – $6,000
8th Place – $5,000

Important Dates at a glance:
November 27, 2021 – All contest applications due no later than 3:30 p.m.
December 2, 2021 – List of eligible contest trainers posted
December 9, 2021 – Contest begins; Aqueduct winter meet
February 15, 2022 – No additional horses may be added to earn contest points (unless replacing a claimed or injured horse)
April 24, 2022 – Contest ends; Closing day, Aqueduct spring meet
May 23, 2022 – Awards paid out

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

For more information, please visit https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/horsemen/.

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Under 20’s Claiming Challenge Returns to Big A

The New York Racing Association will once again conduct the Under 20's Claiming Challenge for its upcoming winter and spring meets at Aqueduct Racetrack. Introduced in 2018, the challenge is open to local conditioners with 20 or fewer trainees nationwide. Trainers will earn points based on their horses' performances in all winners' claiming races at Aqueduct from the start of the winter meet Dec. 9 through the end of the spring meet Apr. 24. The top eight trainers in the contest will split a price pool of $80,000, with the winning trainer receiving $16,000. Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci has won five of the past Under 20's challenges, while Eddie Barker has won twice, including tying with Kantarmaci for the 2019-20 Aqueduct winter challenge. Click here for more details on the contest structure.

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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.

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

Trainer Mertkan Kantarmaci continued his domination of NYRA's “Under 20s Claiming Challenge” with another title for the concluded winter/spring meet at Aqueduct Racetrack, marking the fourth consecutive time he has finished atop the leaderboard.

The “Under 20s Claiming Challenge,” launched in 2018, is open to local trainers with 20 or fewer horses nationwide. The most recently completed challenge launched on December 10, Opening Day of the 56-day winter meet, and ran through the 11-day Big A spring meet that concluded April 18.

Kantarmaci topped the standings, racking up 133 points in the unique contest that highlighted horses' performances in winners' claiming races on the main track. Randi Persaud was second with 83 points, with Edward Barker [68] and A.C. Avila [65] rounding out the quartet who cracked the 60-point threshold.

The top-eight trainers in the contest shared a prize pool of $80,000, with Kantarmaci earning the first-place prize of $16,000.

The outright win for Kantarmaci followed a 2020 in which he tied Barker for the title during the Big A's winter meet. The Turkish-born conditioner was also the stand-alone challenge winner for the 2018-19 winter meet and the 2019 Belmont Park spring/summer meet.

“It's a great feeling and to get a title like this racing in New York, I'm really delighted with that,” Kantarmaci said. “It shows we can have consistent success with the claiming horses, and most of them have improved from when they were claimed, and some of them have gone on to allowance races. I couldn't get points with those, but of course, I made money with them by moving them up.”

When the winter and spring meets are factored in, Kantarmaci compiled a 10-12-9 record with 74 starters, finishing in the money 41.89 percent of the time and winning at a 13.51 percent clip, with his horses earning $600,617.

“I think I'm one of the best claiming trainers in New York right now,” Kantarmaci said. “I've won a few at Aqueduct and one Belmont. So, it shows we can do well at Belmont and at Aqueduct, which has a long winter meet. There aren't many young trainers in New York; just a few. It's hard to win that much with just claiming horses. But it's gotten people's attention and some owners have asked us if we're available to train their horses, so a claiming title like this in New York has been really helpful.”

Among Kantarmaci's highlights for the concluded Big A stint was the Chilean-bred Mi Tres Por Ciento in an $84,000 allowance optional claimer title on December 19 and an allowance optional claimer worth $84,000 on February 13. Reed Kan also won two of his four starts during the Claiming Championship period, while Dust Devil won a claiming title on January 18 and added another victory in a starter allowance race on April 1.

Looking to parlay that success to the current meet, Kantarmaci has two runners entered for Sunday's program, with Castagno entered for Race 4, a $55,000 claiming contest, and Front Man entered in a $55,000 starter allowance in Race 6.

Overall, Kantarmaci said he has 19 horses in his barn at Belmont and praised NYRA for continuing to sponsor the Claiming Challenge Series.

“We are really happy and thankful for the opportunities it gives to claiming trainers,” Kantarmaci said. “Maybe one day, I'll have high-class stakes horses and maybe some others will have the opportunity to take advantage of this claiming challenge as well.”

The Under 20s Claiming Challenge continues into the current spring/summer meet at Belmont Park, which started April 22 and runs through Closing Day of the 48-day meet on Sunday, July 11. This contest encompasses both main track and turf contests.

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.

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

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