F-T Texas Yearling Sale Debuts Evening Format

By Shelby O’Neill

There’s no getting around the fact that Texas summers swelter, but thanks to a new evening format, buyers and sellers at the Fasig-Tipton Texas summer yearling sale now will be able to beat the heat. When the Southwest's most prominent yearling auction convenes Aug. 27, in Dallas, it will kick off with a cocktail reception at 4 p.m. CDT followed by the first horse heading through the ring at around 5 p.m.

"We had numbers that gave us an opportunity to try an evening format, which has been requested by a lot of the people down in the area," said Tim Boyce, director of sales for Fasig-Tipton Texas. "We will kick it off with a little cocktail party to highlight the change in format. I think we have a pretty good sale for doing such because it’s really concentrated."

The catalog for the Fasig-Tipton Texas sale checks in as significantly slimmer than years past, numbering only 170, down from last year’s book of 372 head. The sale is also facing new competition in the inaugural yearling sale of the Equine Sales Company of Louisiana at Copper Crowne, which will take place just a little more than a week later on Sept. 5 in Opelousas, La.

"You never know with being sandwiched between sales, but I think this is going to be a good market for us," Boyce said. "There’s really good quality still in it. The sire power has really gone up a little bit. I’m kind of tickled with what I’ve seen, including some good solid Texas-breds and some excellent-looking individuals."

Some of that sire power comes courtesy of strong young stallions, including Hard Spun , Corinthian , Bluegrass Cat , First Samurai , and English Channel . 

"On the dam sides, the bottom lines are very strong as well," Boyce said. "Given the reduced number, I hope the average will go up, just as a mathematical guess. The demand for horseflesh is about the same. I think it will still be a good buyers market."

Despite the new Louisiana sale the following week, horses bred in the Pelican State still lead the pack in the Fasig-Tipton Texas catalog, with 65 Louisiana-breds consigned. The book also includes 47 Texas-breds and 27 Oklahoma-breds. Fasig-Tipton Texas veteran Mark Toothaker, who has brought several sale toppers to the yearling sale over the past decade, has the largest consignment with 42 head.

To view the full catalog for the Fasig-Tipton Texas summer yearling sale, visit www.fasigtipton.com.