It was more of the same during the second session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern fall yearling sale Sept. 30 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Md., as gross, average, and median took dives while the buy-back rate climbed.
For the first two days, Fasig-Tipton reported 326 horses sold for $5,551,700, a decrease of 11.7% and 37.5%, respectively, from the 369 sold last year that grossed $8,879,900. The average was $17,030, a decrease of 29.2% from the 2007 figure of $24,065. The median was $9,500, down 8.4% from last year’s figure of $10,375.
After two days, the buy-back rate is 37.1%, compared to 27.2% after the same period last year.
For the second session, the sale company reported 155 horses sold for a gross of $2,768,300. The average was $17,860 and the median $9,000. Three horses hit the six-figure mark.
The session’s buy-back rate was 39% compared to 21.5% last year.
Compared to last year, the number of horses sold dropped 20.1% and the gross fell 40%. The average decreased 24.8% and the median fell 16.3%.
The 2007 second session grossed $4,616,600 from 194 horses sold. The average was $23,797 and the median $11,000.
“I don’t think anything happened today that was different from yesterday,” said T. Mason Grasty, Fasig-Tipton Midlantic director. “We have a depressed market and yesterday’s national trauma (stock market falling and the $700 billion bailout plan failing in the United States House of Representatiaves), in reflection, had little to do with the sales. It is more of a reflection of the horse market and what we will expect to see in Kentucky (Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall yearling sale) in two weeks."
Grasty added, “There are mares, unfortunately, in production that aren’t commercial, not to say they can’t get a pretty foal, good foal, fast racehorse, but they are not viably commercial.”
The second session’s highest-priced offering was a $170,000 son of Tiznow out of the Seeking the Goldmare Cinnamon Spice that was purchased by Samantha Siegel, with Bryan Rice signing the ticket on her behalf. Bayne Welker’s Welker Sales Agency consigned the colt for Perry Flynn of Greensboro, N.C.
“He was just the right kind of colt, a big, strong, with good conformation and looked like the type that was going to give them a chance to have a horse that was going to go the distance and do bigger things,” said Rice.
Welker privately purchased the colt for Flynn from Rob Whiteley’s Liberation Farm after he failed to meet his reserve at the 2007 Keeneland November mixed sale and was bought back for $47,000. Welker said he buys one horse per year for Flynn to resell.
“I think he was appreciated because of his sire, who has just done no wrong this year. His horses have been winning grade ones, listed stakes, and it’s not just one horse who has been carrying him. He has multiple horses out there at the top level,” Welker said. “This horse had pedigree that kind of stood out amongst everything in this book. He was a big, free-moving colt.”
Welker said the horse was originally entered in the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July sale but he opted to scratch him from that auction and bring him to Maryland. “We ended up taking him out (of the Kentucky sale) because he needed time to grow, he needed time to try to fill out. He would not have fit the mold and profile of the horses that were going in July. He still had a lot of frame and he just quite had not gotten there yet.”
The colt will be sent to Rice’s farm near Ocala, Fla., to be broken.
The second highest-priced offering on the day was a $110,000 son of Songandaprayer out of the Storm Bird mare Beach Bunny that was purchased over the phone by Mike Aker’s Dapple Bloodstock.
Sally Thomas consigned the dark bay or brown colt for his breeder, John McDaniel’s Hickory Ridge Farm. The colt is from the family of Canadian Horse of the Year Ruling Angel and Canadian champions Regal Intention and Mountain Angel.
Thomas said McDaniel operates Hickory Ridge Farm near Highland, Md., where he keeps eight to 10 broodmares on the property and is moving toward breeding horses for the commercial market.
Concerning the price of the colt, Thomas said she was aware several people were interested but did not know where the colt would fall based on the pervious day’s results and the current state of the Thoroughbred market. “I loved the colt,” said Thomas, who foaled and prepped the colt for the sale. “I loved his attitude. He is a very classy colt.”
Thomas, who said she chose the Midlantic sale for the colt because he needed time to mature added, “With the economy the way that it is, we had to adjust where we were on all of our horses and come to reality,” she said. “We dropped all of our reserves dramatically. All of the horses we have are here to sell. So far, the sale has been OK for this market.”
The day’s top-priced filly, a $105,000 daughter of Purge, was purchased by Malvern Burroughs and consigned by Paramount Sales, agent.
The filly, who was bred in Kentucky by Dr. Frank Justice and Meadow Oaks Farm, was produced from the Canadian champion Canaveral mare Brusque. The filly originally sold for $27,000 to Anstu Farm at the 2007 Keeneland November mixed sale from the Paramount consignment.
“We thought she was the best filly in the sale,” said trainer Chad Brown, who signed the ticket on behalf of Burroughs. “She is real clean and looks like she will be a good 2-year-old and run on after that.”
Burroughs, who resides in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., is a former amateur harness driver and won the 1997 Hambletonian with Malbar Man. His construction company built the Meadowlands Racetrack.