Fasig-Tipton Kicks off Yearling Season with July Sale

The first yearling sale of the season—Fasig-Tipton's July Selected Yearling Sale brings the excitement of a new chapter, along with a showcase of first-crop sire offerings from 22 stallions. This year, for the first time, the July Selected Yearling Sale and the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale will be held on the same day—July 8, starting at 10:00 a.m. A total of 261 yearlings have been cataloged. Immediately following the yearling session, 69 horses of racing age are slated to go through the ring. "It's a really good group," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning about the first-crop sires. "I think this group is better than we've had in a while. Not only do they perform on the racetrack, they're making very, very good-looking yearlings. You see a bunch of them on the grounds, and I think we'll see a very good reception of these horses—as we should—based on their performances on the racetrack and based on the conformation of their offspring." Browning said the company's decision to combine the two sessions into one day was partly due to the challenge of recruiting racehorses to the sale. "Last year, we had under 100 horses in the Horses of Racing Age Sale," Browning said. "But, it's a good sign that our game is healthy too, that people love racing and love having a good horse. The purses are really good, so it's not all negative. "We made the decision last year after the sale to combine and make it consolidated into one day next year. Time is precious, particularly right now. You've got Saratoga who raced this past weekend; the Saratoga meet is opening Thursday. Del Mar is getting ready to open. The calendar is compressed, so it was kind of a no-brainer to do it all in one day." Consignors all shared optimism ahead of the sale. "We're coming off the backs of a very strong 2-year-old market," said Conrad Bandoroff of Denali Stud. "I think there's a lot of sense for some optimism—the recent passage of the tax bill, I think, also is a cause for a lot of optimism as well; and the addition of the bonus depreciation coming back, and that's going to be retroactive from the beginning of the year. "I think we're in a really healthy position, and looking forward to starting the yearling market on the heels of a really strong 2-year-old sales cycle. Hopefully, we're going to see a continuation of the market's strength." Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales echoed that statement by Bandoroff. "You never know how these things will play out, but the current budget bill just brought back depreciation at 100% for a lot of these buyers," Cauthen said. "I think that can't hurt. I think it will certainly move us forward." The July Yearling Sale appeals to pinhookers and end-users who are looking for an early-maturing prospect to take to the track next spring—whether it be in Ocala at the sales or hitting the early 2-year-old races. "As always, this is the first sale of the (yearling) year; we have some folks that are a little reticent to jump right back in out of 2-year-old sales, but quite frankly, I've talked to some people who said they've been on the sidelines since October," Cauthen added. "That's why we start right here, it's a great sale to start with." Brian Graves of Gainesway Farm said the loss of prolific 2-year-old consignor Eddie Woods, who was a regular shopper at the July Selected Yearling Sale, will be felt on the sales grounds. Woods sold his last draft of horses at this year's Ocala Breeders Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. "I worry about some of the losses. I worry about guys like Ciaran Dunne and Eddie Woods, who have been forces in the industry for a long time," Graves said. "I think it's encouraging that Fasig is putting some incentive out there to get more trainers to buy horses at the sale, and I kind of expect that things will balance out and be as good as last year." A bittersweet addition to the Horses of Racing Age Sale sure to grab a lot of attention is the six offerings from the Estate of D. Wayne Lukas. Mulholland Springs will consign the draft for the legendary Hall of Fame trainer. READ: Lukas Horses Add Bittersweet Tone to F-T HORA Sale "It's the beginning of an end of an era of somebody that had a transformative effect on our industry for many, many years," Browning said. "Somebody that changed the auction process dramatically in terms of what he (Lukas) looks for and how he bought horses, and how he brought people into the game. "There's very few people who legitimately had a great influence or a great impact, and Wayne had a great influence and a great impact on the racing business, on the sales side of things, and probably equally or more important, on the people side of things. Not just the trainers that came up under him, but anybody that came in contact with Wayne. "I value and cherish the conversations I had with him. Wayne, even in his later years, when his health was beginning to decline, to see the effort and courage that he put forth—to be on a horse early in the morning, his attitude was always so positive. We've lost a legend. We're happy we could assist his family in some small way, because he's had such a major impact and a major influence on everybody who's involved in our industry." Romeo, recent winner of the Bashford Manor Stakes June 29 at Churchill Downs, is another late addition sure to spark interest among buyers. The 2-year-old son of Honor A.P. won by nearly four lengths for trainer John Robb. He is consigned by Paramount Sales, agent. At last year's Yearling Sale, 156 yearlings sold for $17,361,000, with an average of $111,288, and a median of $90,000. Seventy-five horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 32.5%. The sale was topped by a colt by Maclean's Music, consigned by Gainesway, who brought $500,000 from Resolute Bloodstock, who was also the sale's leading buyer with nine purchases totaling $1,600,000. Gainesway led the consignors, selling 17 of their 18 head for $3,149,000. Last year's Horses of Racing Age Sale saw 67 horses sell for $6,803,500, with an average of $101,545, and a median of $62,000. The RNA rate was 18.3%, representing the 15 horses who failed to meet their reserve. Multiple graded stakes-placed Informed Patriot topped the sale, selling for a record $1,550,000 to HRH Prince Saud bin Salman, from the Taylor Made consignment. His single purchase rocketed him to the top of the buyers of the sale, with Taylor Made topping the consignors with a gross of $2,592,000 from 11 horses sold. As of Monday afternoon, Fasig-Tipton reported 31 outs for the Yearling Sale, and 15 scratches in the Horses of Racing Age Sale.