Momentum Could Carry to Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale

Coming off the heels of a record-breaking Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton is poised to keep that momentum going into its New York-Bred Yearling Sale Aug. 11-12. Fasig-Tipton has 300 horses cataloged for the two-day sale. Opening night will start at 7:30 p.m. ET Aug. 11 to accommodate the running of the Fourstardave Handicap (G1T) and the Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T). These races were initially to run Aug. 3 but were canceled due to rain. The Aug. 12 session will begin at 12 p.m. ET as originally scheduled. Hips 300-400 will sell Aug. 11 in the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion, and hips 401-600 will sell Aug. 12. "We've kind of gone back to back now (Fasig-Tipton July Sale and The Saratoga Sale). It bodes well for the New York-Bred Sale," said Boyd Browning Jr., president and CEO of Fasig-Tipton. In 2023, a new gross record was set, with a total of $20,929,000 spent over two days. Last year's top price for a yearling in the New York-bred showcase sale was $380,000, with an average of $95,132. "There are good things happening in the New York-bred program, we're going to have purse parity coming up," Browning said. Launching Jan. 1, 2026, New York-bred overnight races for 2-year-olds on the New York Racing Association circuit will offer purse amounts matching the race's open-company counterpart. The 2024 New York-bred foal crop will be the first to gain the benefits of the purse parity program. Mo Plex is among the most recent noteable graduates of the New York Bred Yearling Sale. The 2-year-old son of Complexity won the Sanford Stakes (G3) at Saratoga Race Course July 13. "We're already running for large purses, and the breeders' awards and everything else. I think people are going to continue to pay up for these horses," said consignor Chris Bernhard of Hidden Lake Farm. "The Saratoga Sale was up 9%, I expect we will be that or even more. I've seen some really nice horses here." Indian Creek will consign 19 horses in the sale. Following their success last week at the Saratoga Sale, where they sold an Into Mischief colt for $1 million, Sarah Sutherland of Indian Creek is encouraged by the traffic on the sales grounds, and the amount of buyers who have stayed in town. "The appetite to buy horses is obviously as strong as anyone can remember in recent years. Those horses that have the physical, a bit of pedigree, and vet; it just seems to be crazy," she said. The Saratoga Sale that took place Aug. 5-6 broke records for gross and average for the history of that sale. The competition to secure a horse was fierce, and there were a lot of buyers who went home empty handed. That may benefit those selling yearlings in the New York-bred sale. "I think in theory it should help. The sales are very different, but at the end of the day people are looking for nice horses," said Sutherland. "The increase in the breeders' funds and New York-bred program, it's a great sale that way. You see it supported by end users and people wanting to buy a nice horse. Being a New York-bred is the cherry on top."