Breeding

Keeeneland September Yearling Sale set records

Details: September 25, 2025; By Staff Writers

LEXINGTON, Ky--The Keeneland September Yearling Sales 12 day sale that ended Saturday, Sept. 30 set records across the board including the number of $ million plus yearlings sold, gross, average and median.

Keeneand sales topperThe Keeneland sale sells in blocks, with the yearlings that are graded the highest sold first.

The first six days set records, but, as been true of sales for the past few years, the yearlings auctioned late in the sale were hard pressed to meet their expenses of combined stud fee and costs of raising a foal and costs of taking them to the sale.

The top yearlings bring incredibly high prices, like buying a yearling for over a million when you have no idea if it will even make it to the races much less become a champion, but no one wants the unfashionably bred ones or the ones with minor imperfections.

At Keeneland, 56 $1 million yearlings were among numerous high marks that define a record-setting auction.

Over 12 sessions, the sale rewrote records by selling 3,070 horses for a total of $531.5 million: the highest gross ever realized at a Thoroughbred auction worldwide.

Historic highlights included 56 yearlings bringing seven figures, besting the previous record of 40 set in 2005 and led by a $3.3 million Gun Runner colt purchased by M.V. Magnier, Peter Brant’s White Birch Farm and Ron Winchell’s Winchell Thoroughbreds.

Saratoga New York bred sale set records across the board

Details: August 13, 2025; By Staff Writers

SARATOGA SPRINS, N.Y.--The first session of the 2025 Fasig-Tipton New York Bred Yearlings sale, conducted Sunday evening, Aug. 10 echoed the momentum from last week’s record-breaking Saratoga Sale, and then the second and final session Monday afternoon established new sale records for gross, average, and median.

Saratoga NY bred sales topper filly Saratoga NY-bred sales topper, a filly by Early VotingOver the two sales, two yearlings sold for $525,000, a colt by Practical Joke and a filly by Early Voting.

The opening session was marked by increases in gross, average, and median, and featured several historically significant prices among the offerings.

"There was plenty of money and not enough horses" said top sales agent Russell Jones of Unionville, Pa.

A filly from the first crop of G1 Preakness Stakes winner Early Voting (hip 331) topped the session when sold for $525,000 to Jones/Everett, agent for Sabby and Gargon Racing .

The price is the second highest paid for a filly at the New York Bred Yearlings sale, second only to a Malibu Moon filly sold in 2019.

“It was an outstanding opening session of the 2025 New York Bred Yearlings sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “The quality of the New York-breds that we’re exposed to in our inspection process continues to improve each and every year and that was indicative of the results tonight.”

Also among the top prices for the first session was a filly by Practical Joke (hip 329) sold for $500,000 to Repole Stable from the consignment of Hunter Valley Farm, agent.

The price tied the third most expensive filly in this sale’s history, tied with an Outwork filly sold in 2019. T

Saratoga Sale sets records with 16 selling for over $1 million

Details: August 6, 2025; By Staff Writers

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--It was an incredible night at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale on Tuesday, Aug. 5, with a record setting $4.1 million sale among the 16 yearlings that sold for $1 million or more.

Hip 218 Saratoga The Saratoa Sale topper (Hip 218)Records fell across the board during the second session of the Sale, while the two-night sale shattered previously established records for gross, average, and median, including topping gross sales of $100,000,000 for the first time in the boutique sale’s considerable history.

"t was like people were trying to get rid of their money as fast as possible," said Russell Jones, a top sales agent who began and then sold Walnut Green and still continues to buy and sell thoroughbreds in Ireland"

The record setting colt by Into Mischief (hip 218) was sold for $4,100,000 to Coolmore & White Birch Farm from the consignment of Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa, agent for Don Alberto Corporation.

"It was a powerful sale, and the $4.1 million colt s a beautiful horse," said Jones.

The most extraordinary event of the evening was that a filly by Into Mischief didn't reach her reserve of $3.9 million and was bought back by Denali Stud, agent for Don Alberto.

"She's a gorgeous filly," said Jones. "By the time she went through the ring, they had probably sold about $5 million in yearlings, so if ever they were going to keep one she would be the one."

"My credit goes to the Fasig-Tipton inspectors," said Jones. "This was a very strong sales with all good physical horses. Usually, there are a few that make this sale just on their pedigree."

Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale is a boutique sale limited to exceptional yearlings with both a top line pedigree and good conformation.

Lizzie Merryman's colt out of Zeezee Zoomzoom sold for $1.4 million at Saratoga Yearling Sale

Details: August 5, 2025; By SARA CAVANAGH

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y.--Elizabeth M. (Lizzie) Merryman bred the Justify colt out of her mare Zeezee Zoomzoom, and on Monday, Aug. 4 she sold the colt for $1.4 million to Sheikh Fahad Al Thani’s Qatar Racing at the Saratoga Selected Yearling Sale..

Liz Merryman with Lizziie Merryman Merryman got Zee Zee Zoomzoom for free, and the mare has turned out to be a gold mine.

Zeezee Zoomzoom has had eight foals, including this colt, and a foal at foot by Nyquist, five of which are winners and two pf then major stakes winners.

"She was recommended by a friend of mine, Kim Brette," said Merryman. "She was out of a really nice mare, and she broke her maiden at Saratoga on Travers Day. I was looking for a brood mare at the time, so I took her."

Zeezee Zoomzoom's first foal was Caravel, whose 15 wins included the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.

Another was Witty, who, trained by Merryman, has won won 10 races so far with his most recent win being the Jim McKay Turf Sprint at Pimlico on May 17.

Merryman almost sent Zeezee Zoomzoom, in foal to Justify, to a sale in late 2024 but finally decided against it. and the foal was born in 2024.

The foal grew up on Buffalo Run farm in Coatesille, Pa., owned by Merryman and her husband Bill Rubin.

Rubin raises buffalo on the farm while Merryman raises thoroughbreds.

The yearling was sent to Hunter Valley Farm to prep for the sale and was sold at Saratoga by Hunter Farm as agent for Merryman.

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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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."