If the lively atmosphere is any indicator of the newly formatted Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale's trajectory, the outlook is exceptionally bright. Buyers set the grounds abuzz May 17 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.
This year's sale presents a new challenge to buyers and sellers, with no timed workouts and restricted crop use. Fasig-Tipton did not publish any timed workouts, and consignors could work their horses at a breeze or a gallop.
Donato Lanni, who bought the highest-priced colt at last year's auction on behalf of Zedan Racing for $1.05 million, was cautiously optimistic about the new format.
The weather conditions at the 2025 under-tack show forced the final session into a gallop-only format, where the $1.05-million colt, now named Boyd, was showcased. The son of Violence broke his maiden on debut at Del Mar by 5 3/4 lengths and followed that up with a win in the Ed Brown Stakes at Churchill Downs.
"We're all adjusting to the new format. I didn't mind the format. It was very challenging for everybody to adjust and figure out which direction to attack the sale," Lanni said.
"With that being said, having the cones up (on the track), everybody had the choice to gallop or work the horses, and it was very challenging for the horses to get around those cones. But, looking at them in the barn, they all look like they've come out of it pretty good."
Lanni said he is anxious to see the results of the new format, and if the horses came out of the works better than if they had worked harder.
"I didn't mind (the format) at all. You just have to adjust your ways of tackling the sale," he said.
The absence of timed workouts forces buyers to begin their physical inspections with an expanded shortlist.
"It ends up being more like a yearling sale, where you're going to be looking at a lot more horses," Lanni said. "It was very challenging, not only for us, but for the horses too, and for the consignors, because everyone is learning.
"There were no casualties, no one got hurt, which is great, so that's the main thing, everyone was safe."
Lanni expressed confidence in a strong auction, predicting a continuation of the 2-year-old market's recent success.
"There are some nice horses here," he said. "Fasig has done a good job recruiting horses and recruiting people. Fasig does a great job of getting buyers here who are not in Florida. They do a really good job of bringing an influx of new buyers here, from the Middle East and elsewhere.
Kristian Villante of Legion Bloodstock was among those looking at horses Sunday, and said he expects another strong sale and does not believe the new format will impact the results.
"You get to see a little bit more with them on the track here, regardless of the speed they're going," Villante said. "Fasig did a really great job of getting big-pedigreed horses at the end of the shank."
Many consignors share the same optimism. Carlos Manresa, director of operations at Sequel Bloodstock, which brought a draft of 12 juveniles to the sale, said the new format brought a sense of comfort.
"Coming into the sale knowing we're not expected to push these horses to the max, and us knowing that the buyers aren't expecting that either, we were able to go out and show the horse's natural ability," he said. "And here at the barn, we've had rave reviews from trainers, especially, that are really happy with what they saw in the breeze show from our consignment, as well as others."
Manresa said he has a lot of faith in the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale as a whole.
"I think that this sale has been on an upward trajectory for several years now, and I think a lot of it is the strength of the surface, and also the buyers that Fasig recruits to come to this sale," Manresa said. "I think everyone feels comfortable buying off a dirt surface. I think we should expect more of the same (strong results)."
Last year's sale saw 327 horses change hands for a record of $44,317,500, including private sales. The average was up more than 40% from the previous year to $135,528 with a median of $60,000.
Mahmud Mouni purchased five horses for a total of $2,765,000 to be the leading buyer. Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables led the consignors, selling 15 head for $5,357,000.
A filly by Girvin topped the sale at $1.1 million, selling to Kerri Radcliffe/Alex Elliott, Agent for Memo Racing and Amo Racing.
Although she was not among the highest-priced, perhaps the most accomplished horse to come out of last year's sale was Explora. The filly by Blame brought $350,000 from Three Amigos from the consignment of Crane Thoroughbred Services. She is now a multiple graded stakes winner and has earnings exceeding $1 million.
"We're very pleased with the quality of horses that we have on the grounds," said Boyd Browning, president and CEO of Fasig-Tipton. "We have high hopes. We'll continue to work hard over the next two days and produce the best marketplace we can for our consignors."
Browning expressed sincere confidence in the format changes for the Midlantic May sale.
"We believe in our hearts it's the right change, and we hope that will be rewarded by strong results for the people who supported the sale."
The first session gets underway May 18 at 11:00 a.m. ET. with Hips 1-300 set to head to the ring. As of Sunday evening, Fasig-Tipton had reported 57 outs for the first session.
