Fasig-Tipton has cataloged 235 horses for its Saratoga select yearling auction, which will be held Aug. 10-11 in upstate New York. The number is up 20.5% from a year ago, when there were 195 yearlings listed in the book.
“We’re very happy with our catalog,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “We think it’s an outstanding group of horses both in terms of pedigree and conformation. I think it’s better than last year’s group on both counts.”
There are seven offspring of the great sire Storm Cat in this year’s Saratoga catalog. Other stallions with progeny in the sale include A.P. Indy, Bernardini , Dynaformer, Ghostzapper , Indian Charlie, Kingmambo, Medaglia d'Oro , Mr. Greeley, Street Cry, Tapit , Tiznow , and Unbridled's Song.
“I think there is a higher interest in Saratoga in 2009,” said Browning, explaining why the catalog increased in size. “Hopefully, the Fasig-Tipton Festival of Racing that we’ve announced will create a lot of excitement surrounding the weekend prior to the sale. Our efforts at Calder (for the Florida select juvenile auction) demonstrated that we’re trying to be very active and aggressive -- and a little more innovative -- in the recruitment of buyers and the creation of a top end sale atmosphere, which is more enjoyable for our customers – both buyers and sellers.”
Fasig-Tipton is renovating its New York sale grounds, and the first phase of improvements is scheduled to be completed prior to the Saratoga select yearling auction.
During the 2008 edition of the Saratoga sale, the 122 horses that sold grossed $36,080,000 and averaged $295,738. The median price was $227,500. Compared to the previous year, the average rose 2.2% and the median remained the same. The gross declined 12.2% while the number sold fell 14.1%.