F-T Saratoga Sale Shatters All Records With $118M Gross

Records fell across the board as Fasig-Tipton's The Saratoga Sale concluded Aug. 11 after a dazzling two-night run. Driven by fierce bidding and high energy, the auction smashed all records for gross, average, and median sales set in 2025. At the end of trade Tuesday evening, 152 yearlings had changed hands for $118,215,000, including private sales. The boutique auction followed up its first $100 million auction with a 17% gross increase from $100,845,000 in 2025. The average was up 24% to $777,730, and the median was up 17% to $525,000. A record 35 horses brought seven figures. The RNA rate was 18%, representing the 34 horses who failed to meet their reserve. "I genuinely believe it was the greatest horse sale I've ever seen in my life," said Boyd Browning Jr., president and CEO of Fasig-Tipton. "Last night and tonight were simply incredible. It shows what happens when you are able to assemble a magnificent group of horses on the grounds. "Mark my words, you're going to look up two years from now, three years from now, and see some of the best horses in the world are graduates of this horse sale." Flying Dutchmen was the leading buyer by gross, spending a whopping $21,625,000 on 11 yearlings, including the $4.2 million sale topper—Hip 136, an Into Mischief colt who is a full brother to multiple graded stakes winner Barnes. Flying Dutchmen spent more money on this year's purchases than the top four buyers combined at this sale last year. Hip 136 was consigned under Heartwood Farm's debut banner, previously operated as Indian Creek, for Juan Aguilar and Sarah Sutherland. Aguilar and Sutherland launched Heartwood earlier this spring. The duo sold Barnes under the Indian Creek banner at the 2023 edition of the sale for $3.2 million to Donato Lanni, agent for Zedan Racing. "This just is a full-circle moment. I think these are clients and mares that are just so special to us," an emotional Sutherland said. "I don't know how to describe it." Hip 136 was bred by Jeff Drown and Don Rachel out of the American Pharoah mare All American Dream. "I thought he (Hip 136) was the fanciest horse in the sale, not saying that means he's the best, but he showed himself really, really well," Flying Dutchmen's Hunter Rankin said. "They prepared him great as they always do. Just thought he'd be very expensive just with his pedigree." Just 18 hips later, Rankin signed for Hip 154, another son of Into Mischief, also consigned by Heartwood Farm, for $3 million. "They're two extremely special animals, and I think it was really fascinating the last few days to watch them," Sutherland said of Hip 136 and Hip 154. "They complemented each other and I think even strengthened each other. They were so different, but so nice. And I don't know that anybody could really separate the two. It was amazing to see them both thrive in that way—separate but together." READ: Heartwood Farm Makes Stellar Debut at F-T Saratoga Sale Hip 154 brought another full-circle moment for the connections of Heartwood as the colt was bred by Santa Rosa Partners, co-founded by Sutherland's dad, prominent bloodstock agent Mike Ryan, and the late Gerry Dilger. He is out of the Curlin mare Beyond Perfection, who is a half sister to 2017 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Always Dreaming, whom Ryan and Dilger bred together. Payton Boersma, chief operating officer of Flying Dutchmen, said every one of its purchases will head to David O'Farrell's Ocala Stud, and eventually to trainer Brian Lynch. Flying Dutchmen also purchased the second-highest-priced yearling of the sale—Hip 200, a striking son of Gun Runner for $4 million. He was bred in Kentucky by Whisper Hill Farm out of the multiple graded stakes-winning mare Four Graces, whom Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill purchased for $2.3 million in 2022 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. "We knew we had a super nice horse. It took a lot to bring him here because we like to keep those kind of horses," said Todd Quast, racing manager for Whisper Hill Farm. "But it is a business, and you have to make business decisions. So we came to see if we could do it. We were willing to stay in because we loved the horse, and there were a lot of people that liked the horse. It turned out that we didn't stay in. "(His) half sister is a Flightline, and we sold her for $2.2 million at last year's Keeneland sale. She was the filly sale topper. Mandy bought the mare for $2.3 million, so now we've sold $6.2 million worth of horses out of that $2.3 million mare." Gainesway consigned the colt. "He was one of the best colts I saw in all of my inspections this year," said Brian Graves, general manager of Gainesway. "We were really high on this horse. We couldn't think any higher of him than we do in his ability to become a racehorse and a stallion. "We're thrilled to bits for Mandy Pope, who's put so much in this business, to get a result like that, and we're grateful to the Flying Dutchmen and wish them the best with this fancy horse." Flying Dutchmen has had a lot of luck at "The Spa," as the ownership group purchased its first grade 1 winner at the Saratoga sale in 2023 for $610,000—La Troienne Stakes (G1) winner and catalog cover star Shred the Gnar. At that same sale, it also purchased graded stakes winner Owen Almighty for $350,000. The highest-priced filly of the sale was Hip 100, a daughter of Not This Time who sold for $1.9 million during the first session to Japanese-based trainer Mitsu Nakauchida. Hip 100 is a full sister to multiple graded stakes winner On Time Girl. She is out of the graded stakes-winning Uncle Mo mare Girl Daddy and was bred in Kentucky by Albaugh Grands Stables. She was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, who once again led all consignors by gross for the two-day sale, selling 29 from its draft for gross receipts of $22,705,000. The highest-priced filly of the second session came later in the evening, when Hip 217, a daughter of Into Mischief, commanded $1.8 million from Spendthrift Farm and Go Go Greys Stable. It was breeder LNJ Foxwoods' first public offering at Saratoga. Hip 217 was consigned by Bedouin Bloodstock. "This is a business," LNJ's Jaime Roth said of the decision to sell the filly. "It was nice to bring some money into the operation. I want to sell good horses. I want people to know we sell really good horses." READ: LNJ Foxwoods Sells at Fasig-Tipton for First Time Spendthrift Farm's marquee stallion Into Mischief, who had three of the top-five purchases Tuesday evening, was responsible for seven of the 35 seven-figure purchases at the sale, and led the sires by an average price of $2,172,222 from nine horses sold. Three Chimneys Farm's Gun Runner had 10 seven-figure yearlings. "The finest judges of Thoroughbred yearlings in the world came on the grounds Friday, and they clearly decided that this was an exceptional group of horses," Browning said. "They looked Friday, and they looked Saturday, and they looked Sunday, and they looked Monday, and they looked again today in several instances. "And they clearly decided that this was an exceptional group of horses, which validated the thoughts and the beliefs that our consignors and our customers had, and our inspection team had, and that's a very, very, very fulfilling and a rewarding experience, really for every member of our staff and for every customer that we've got."