F-T New York Bred-Sale Concludes With Record Highs

The Aug. 17 final session of the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale saw the two-day auction establish all-time highs in gross, average, and median sales, spurred in part by a $550,000 sale topper. Marlene Brody's Gallagher's Stud, one of New York breeding's foundation farms, sold Hip 411, a colt by freshman sire Life is Good. The bidding was spirited from the moment that the bay colt stepped into the ring, with trainer Miguel Clement getting the final bid on behalf of an undisclosed partnership, with John Kimmel and Nick Sallusto acting as agents. Brody and her late husband Jerry began breeding horses in New York 50 years ago, and earlier this year she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York Thoroughbred Breeders. "I was expecting a healthy result," said Brody, who will turn 95 in a few months. "He was a very nice product, and Life is Good is coming along nicely." Brody purchased the colt's dam, Mascotte, for $200,000 at the 2022 Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, in foal to Goldencents. A half brother by Essential Quality to Hip 411 sold at this sale last year for $220,000 to White Owl Stable and is currently in training in Saratoga. "He fit a lot of our orders," Clement said. "He's one of the best physicals of the sale, and if you want to win big races, you need to have some of the better physicals. It's that simple. It costs more than I'd like to pay, without a doubt, but I've been saying that for a couple of years now. He's a very, very exciting acquisition." "I'm really happy for the farm," said Gallagher's Stud manager Mallory Mort, breeder of grade 1 winner Rhetorical and millionaire Sterling Silver. "It's great for Mrs. Brody. We haven't sold a big horse like this in a few years, so it's really nice." "Really nice" could also be applied to the sale overall, with gross, average, and median exceeding last year's record metrics. From 203 horses sold this year, compared to 200 last year, the gross rose 3.1% to $24,628,000; the average rose 1.6% to $121,320; and the median rose 17.6% to $100,000 from $85,000 over last year's two-day session. While the 2026 sale didn't make the dramatic jumps of last week's The Saratoga Sale, the steadiness of the market encouraged Fasig-Tipton CEO and president Boyd Browning Jr. "Once again, we had the superfecta," he said. "Record gross, record average, record median, and a decrease in RNAs from last year. Some of us remember a period of time when it wouldn't be unusual to have a 40 or 45% RNA rate in this sale. We've seen such growth and evolution that every major trainer that's stabled in New York has New York-breds as a vital part of their racing team." A Good Magic colt consigned as Hip 537 by Eaton Sales, agent, brought $375,000 from a partnership comprising CHC, Maverick Racing, and First Go. Out of the Quality Road mare Too Sexy, the colt is a half brother to a Constitution filly that brought $390,000 at last year's edition of the auction. Both horses were bred by Kathleen Burke Schweizer, Daniel J. Burke, and Clement Stable. "We looked at him as a team," said Gerry Duffy, president of WinStar Farm, who signed the ticket for Maverick Racing. "Everybody thought he was a real athlete by an exciting stallion. We're delighted to own him. The New York program is great. There are a lot of nice horses up here, and there are great incentives for buying a New York-bred." "It's been such a meaningful summer for the Clements," Schweitzer said. "It's really nice to be here with them and have such a great result. The dam of this horse is fantastic, and Christophe brought her to us. He said, 'We've got to get her. We're going to do this.'" Schweitzer and her father Daniel, purchased Too Sexy for $450,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky Fall Mixed Sale in 2022. The mare is in foal to Flightline. Stuart Grant's The Elkstone Group purchased seven horses across the two sessions for a total of $592,000. Though Grant has long been a presence in New York, he came to the sale with a plan to invest more deeply in the state's racing program. "Our plan was to buy five to seven horses," Grant said. "My partner is Michael Dubb, and we're both very supportive of the New York program. Now Belmont will have year-round racing, and New York-bred purses will match open ones, so if you buy right here, you really only have to win a maiden special weight and a first-level allowance to get close to even." Grant's highest-priced purchase came from the consignment of Fort Christopher's Thoroughbreds, a Zandon filly (Hip 499) out of the Langfuhr mare She's All Love, who brought $137,000. "I think the market is strong once again for these horses, and one of the biggest surprises for me was seeing the confidence of buyers in New York sires," said Fort Christopher's Chris Shelli. "Now we just need to have more stallions come to New York and give the breeders more choices. I don't stand stallions, but I love to support them." Among the successful New York stallions at the sale was Americanrevolution, who stood the 2026 season at Rockridge Stud near Hudson, N.Y., for $10,000. Of 20 head to go through the ring, 16 sold for a total of $1.8 million with an average of $118,063. His first foals are yearlings this year. "We're delighted with how he's doing," said WinStar's Duffy. While racing for WinStar Farm, Americanrevolution (Constitution) earned just shy of $1.3 million in 12 starts and five wins, including the 2021 Cigar Mile (G1). Among the buyers of Americanrevolution yearlings were trainer Kenny McPeek, owner Sackatoga Stable, agent Mike Ryan, and Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm. "They outperformed expectations," said Lere Visagie, owner and manager of Rockridge Stud. "We're very happy that the trend was so strong, and the fact that people buying these horses are bellwethers of the industry is uplifting for the whole state." "To see an average above $120,000 and a median of $100,000 speaks to the quality of the yearlings our breeders and consignors brought to Saratoga and the continued demand from owners and buyers for New York-breds." said Najja Thompson, executive director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders. "It is also a credit to Boyd Browning and the entire Fasig-Tipton team for the quality of the catalog they put together. "It was especially encouraging to see the reception for yearlings by stallions standing in New York, including Americanrevolution, Bucchero, Mind Control, Honest Mischief, and Solomini. We've continued to see investment in the quality of the stallion roster standing in New York, and the results in the sales ring demonstrate that buyers are recognizing that quality. The strength of those results is encouraging for the continued growth of our program and reinforces why breeders and owners should continue investing in breeding and racing horses in New York."