Breeding

William Pape's Boxwood was the top selling mare at Fasig-Tipton Winter Mixed Sale

Details: February 4, 2025; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON, Ky.--A $775,000 Curlin colt topped the 2025 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Winter Mixed sale, held Monday, Feb. 3, while William Pape's Boxwood was the second highest priced and the highest price mare.

Fasig Curlin colt Curlin coltBoxwood (hip 228), in foal to Nyquist, sold for $650,000 to Steven W. Young, agent, from the consignment of Royal Oak Farm, agent for William L. Pape Dispersal.

Boxwood is the dam of last season’s speedy juvenile stakes winner Keep It Easy, by Hard Spun.

Keep It Easy is on the Derby trail, and his next anticipated start is in the G2 Fountain of Youth Stakes on March 1 at Gulfstream Park.

"We were very pleased," said Braxton Jones Lynch of Royal Oak Farm, who also sold Pape's last remaining mare Figgy for $75,000. "Bill Pape was thrilled."

Lynch, who as agent sells regularly at thoroughbred sales, takes after her father and her Uncle Russell Jones of Unionville, Pa., whose Walnut Green was one of the top sales agents before his retirement.

Pape owned many top steeplechase horses, including Eclipse Award winner Divine Fortune and four time Eclipse Award winner Flatterer, bred with Hall of Fame trainer Jonathan Sheppard, raised on Pape's 90 acre My Way farm in Unionville, Pa. and trained by Sheppard.

After marrying his wife Anne, Pape turned his interest to flat racing, but following Anne's death Pape decided to disperse his thoroughbred stable.

Fasig-Tipton Decembr Digital Sale set a world record

Details: December 13, 2024; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON, Ky.--The December Digital Sale conducted by Fasig-Tipton sold 401 horses for a record $10,031,000.

allezmarie Allez Marie (Photo courtesy of Fasig-Tipton)
The gross is believed to be a world record for a Thoroughbred auction conducted exclusively online.

The best thing about digital sales is that with such a sale there is no cost of shipping the horse to the sale and no cost of keeping the horse at the sale for two or three days before the sale while paying an agent to show the horse, who then also gets a percentage of the sale price.

That greatly reduces the cost of selling a horse.

But the advantage of selling at a regional sale like Timonium in Maryland is that most of the bidders there are also from Maryland and may race the hose in Maryland, so the breeder gets state breeder's awards.

In a digital sale, bidders come from all over.

More than 1200 bidders were registered to bid at the Fasig-Tipton sale.

The Digital platform has now grossed more than $45,500,000 in 2024.

With 1417 sold from 1789 offered, the platform has a 79% clearance rate this year.

Allez Marie (hip 337) topped the session and the sale when sold for $750,000, and Three Chimneys Farm signed the ticket.

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Details: November 30, 2024; By Staff Writers

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Commuted, a 3-year-old son of Gun Runner, topped the Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale

Details: October 10, 2024; By Staff Writers

More and more people are beginning to sell their horses through digital sales.

Commuted, Sale topper at $150,000 (photo from Fasig-Tipton)
Selling in a digital sale means no shipping cost for getting the horse to the sale, no daily fee for someone to show the horse st the sale and no agent's fee.

The usual daily fee is $150, and horses have to be there at least two days before the sale to be shown, so that's $600 right there, and the minimum agent's commission is $800.

Digital sales are really good for horses expected to sell for $8,000 or less.

Digital sales are a much easier was to sell horses, plus they are being sold to a much larger market.

For instance, at the Fasig-Tipton October Digital Sale there were over 830 registered bidders, many more than there are at regional sales.

Plus, horses from California and Texas were sold, a huge saving in shipping costs,

Fasig-Tipton sale emblematic of problems with breeding industry

Details: October 2, 2024; By SARA CAVANAGH

TIMONIUM, Md.--The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings sale, held Tuesday in Timonium on Tuesday, Oct. 1, was overall a disaster.

F T Timonium Maryland bred filly by City of LightThe Fasig-Tipton sale was just one indication of what's happening to the breeding industry.

Only the get of a few top Kentucky stallions bring top dollar, and because breeders know that, those stallions are being bred to the largest number of mares.

Practical Joke had the highest number of mare's bred in 2024 with 277 followed by Justify (263), Gunite (256), Golden Pal (209), Elite Power (203), Uncle Mo (202), Gun Runner (200), Pappacap (200), Taiba (200), Vekoma (200).

Gun Runner with 200, is the sire of Gunite, with 256, Taiba with 200 and Pappacap with 200.

The Jockey Club projects a thoroughbred foal crop of 17,300 in 2025, so 863 of those will all be by those four related stallions.

The end result of that is that it will eventually make the gene pool smaller and thoroughbreds will begin to be inbred.

The commercial value of a horse is no longer what it is worth as a race horse but rather what it will bring at a sale before it is old enough to race.

So breeders are going to breed to a stallion whose get will sell well, not necessarily one that can run.

Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale broke all records and sold 12 $1 million yearlings

Details: August 7, 2024; By Staff Writers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--The Saratoga Selected Yearlings Sale set new records across the board for the third year in a row, finishing its second session on Tuesday, Aug. 6 with six yearlings selling for over $1 million.

$2.4 million sales topper Tuesday evening
The two session sale had 12 yearlings sell of over $1 million and established new records for gross, average, and median, and posted the lowest RNA rate since 2015.

“We almost went back-to-back with million dollar horses with the first two horses to go through the ring," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. "And that momentum carried throughout because of the quality of horses.

The first three through the ring sold for $975,000, $1.5 million and $900,000, only to be followed up with a pair that sold for $650,000 and $425,000.

It would be hard to find another sale that began like than.

"The success of the sale is completely dependent on the quality of the horses that our consignors give us the opportunity to sell," said Browning. "We felt very confident that the quality of horses in this catalogue was the best we ever had. I think that the buyers proved us right. Buyers have a tremendous level of confidence when they come to Saratoga. They feel like they will come find some of the best-conformed yearlings in the world. And now we get some of the best pedigrees in the world.”

“It's a rewarding and fulfilling situation where there is a tremendous level of confidence in the marketplace." he said. "And there is a tremendous level of confidence in Saratoga. It's a magical place. It's unbelievable racing. Unbelievable community support. It's a great feeling.

A colt by Not This Time topped the Saratoga Yearling Sale at $3.4 Million

Details: August 6, 2024; By Staff Writers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Opening night of the Saratoga Selected Yearling Sales on Monday, Aug. 5 had six yearlings sell for over #1 Million, topped by the fifth most expensive colt offered in the history of the Sale, and posted gains over the previous year's first session in gross, average, and median, as well as an RNA rate of just 20.6%.

3.4 Million sales topper 3.4 Million Saratoga Selected Yearlings sales topper (Photo by Fasig-Tipton)
A colt by Not This Time (Hip 72), consigned by Nardell Sales topped the session when sold for $3,400,000 to Donato Lanni, agent for Amr Zedan's Zedan Racing.

The colt is out of Kayce Ace, a stakes placed full sister to multiple G1 winner Colonel John and is a half-brother to multiple G1 placed graded stakes winner Comical and to the dam of stakes winner Sweetlou'sgotaces.

"It was obviously a really strong start to this year's Saratoga Sale," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "There was lots of competition, lots of energy, lots of excitement. Just a tremendous start."

"We won the first half," he said. "AIt was a really strong start to the opening session of the sale. We averaged over $500,000 tonight and the median was $400,000. Our RNA rate at an elite sale at 20% is pretty remarkable. We always aim for zero, but that's certainly encouraging. It was a very, very encouraging start to this sale."

"Since we were over $500,000 tonight, I hope we are over $500,000 for the entire sale because it has a really good ring to it," Browning said. "$502,000 sounds a whole lot better than $498,000, but the key is to deliver as good a result as we can for the men and women who brought quality products to the sale."

Colt by Nyquist topped the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearling sale

Details: October 4, 2023; By Staff Writers

TIMONIUM, Md.--A colt by Nyquist (Hip 160) topped the second session and the sale, selling for $205,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Fall Yearlings sale on Tuesday evening, Oct. 3 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.

Fasig Tipton Timonium 23 The sales topper at the Fasig-Tipton Yearling sale inTimonium The colt by Nyquist sold for $205,000 to Thorostock LLC & Seth Morris Thoroughbreds from the consignment of Becky Davis Inc., agent.

Out of the winning Not For Love mare How My Heart Works, the dark bay or brown colt is a half-brother to graded stakes placed Monday Morning QB, winner of last year’s Maryland Million Classic, and a full sibling to Asawer, second runner up in this year’s G3 U.A.E. Oaks and was bred in Maryland by Bowman & Higgins Stable.

Over the course of two days, 289 yearlings sold for $7,078,000, good for an average of $24,491.

The median was $12,000, and the RNA (reserve not attained) rate was 21.4%.

"Could it have been a better sale, yes," said Marshall Silverman of New Freedom, Pa., who sold a number of yearlings as agent, including the second highest price colt in the opening session. "But the way things are going it was not too bad."

"It wasn't as crowded as usual, but a lot of the right people were there," he said."A lot of people want only Kentucky sired horses."

Siverman said the Timonium being sandwiched between the Keeneland sale of thousands of yearling and the Keeneland sale of 12,000 horses meant that some buyers didn't bother to go to Maryland.

$925,000 Twirling Candy Colt Sets Mark Tuesday at Keeneland September Yearling Sale

Details: September 21, 2023; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON, Ky.--Pin Oak Stud on Tuesday abought the most expensive horse sold during the eighth session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale since 1999 when it paid $925,000 for a colt by Twirling Candy on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Keeneland sale scenic Keeneland sale Consigned by Paramount Sales, agent, the colt is out of the winning First Defense mare Hiking and from the family of English highweight Logician, Group 1 winner Cityscape and Grade/Group 2 winners Didina (GB), Bated Breath and Equilateral.

Paramount was the day’s leading consignor with sales of $2,529,000 for 26 horses.

“He was a beautiful colt,” Pat Costello of Paramount said. “Everyone on the grounds was on him. We loved him from Day 1. We’re thrilled for the buyer (Pin Oak Stud) and I’m delighted for the breeder (Lady Bamford), a lovely lady. He was a special colt.”

Pin Oak Stud spent $1.03 million for two horses to lead buyers.

Keeneland Sales had a $900,000 sale on Sunday and a $700,000 sale Monday

Details: September 20, 2023; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON, Ky.--Steady trade during Monday, Sept. 18's seventh session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale was headlined by a colt by Good Magic from the family of G1 winner and sire Pioneerof the Nile that sold for $700,000 to Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket.

Keeneland September sale ringAt $700,000, the colt is the highest-priced yearling to sell in the seventh session since 2015.

A total of 306 yearlings sold through the ring during the session for $24,681,500, for an average of $80,658 and a median of $65,000.

The total is 10.39% below the $27,544,000 from the corresponding session in 2022 when 314 horses sold.

The average dipped 8.05% from $87,720 in 2022, and the median is 3.70% under last year’s $67,500.

Cumulatively, Keeneland has sold 1,505 yearlings for $344,546,500, 3.07% lower than the $355,453,500 for 1,556 horses sold during the same period last year.

The average of $228,935 is slightly above $228,441 from 2022, and the median of $150,000 is 6.25% below last year’s $160,000.

The session topper, who is out of the Bernardini mare Beauty Buzz, was consigned by Gainesway, agent. Gainesway led all consignors Monday with sales of $3,715,000 for 30 yearlings.

$875,000 Authentic yearling topped Keeneland Sales, Saturday session

Details: September 17, 2023; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON,Ky.--Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale resumed Saturday after a one-day hiatus with the first session of the two-day Book 3, which recorded nearly $47 million in sales and was led by the purchase of a colt from the first crop of Horse of the Year Authentic for $875,000 by Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket.

Keeneland 875000 Keeneland Sales, $875,000 coltby AuthenticThe session topper, who was consigned by Eaton Sales, agent, is out of the multiple graded stakes-placed Street Sense mare Sweetgrass.

He is from the family of champion Althea.

Donato Lanni, agent for SF/Starlight/Madaket, was the session’s leading buyer by purchasing three yearlings for $1,735,000.

St. Elias, Talla Racing and Spendthrift Farm paid $775,000 for a colt from the first crop of G1 winner Vekoma.

Consigned by Legacy Bloodstock, agent for Spendthrift Farm, he is out of stakes winner Summer of Fun, a daughter of Include who was third in the G1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf.

The colt is from the family of G1 winner Louis Cyphre (Ire) and Grade/Group 2 winners Psychobabble (Ire) and Mekong Melody (Ire).