By Shelby Downs
After a record-breaking top price in 2007, the Fasig-Tipton Texas summer yearling sale will return Aug. 25 to the Texas Thoroughbred sale pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. The sale concludes after its second session Aug. 26. Both sessions begin at 10 a.m. (CDT).
“I think the sale has a lot of energy,” said Tim Boyce, director of sales for Fasig-Tipton Texas. “I felt that from early on this year. We’ve got some 500 head, which creates a good critical mass. It should get more people on a plane down here.”
While the 2007 catalog included 417 offerings, this year’s sale will feature 506 yearlings. Sale officials hope the increase in quantity mirrors an increase in quality.
“We’ve got some nice horses, like a half to grade I winner Premium Tap and a half to a Canadian champion by Medaglia d’Oro,” Boyce said. “The sire power keeps getting better.”
Among the nationally prominent sires represented in the sale are Posse, Pleasant Tap, Stormy Atlantic ,Trippi, E Dubai, and Forest Wildcat. Leading regional sires Valid Expectations, Early Flyer , Leestown, and Easyfromthegitgo also have yearlings in the sale. The list of notable freshman sires includes Eurosilver, Consolidator, Grand Reward, Unforgettable Max, Limehouse, and Texas stallions Midway Roadand Wimbledon.
While the sale originally began as a showcase for Texas-breds, in recent years its make-up has shifted to take on a Southwest identity comprised of many horses from the surrounding states of Louisiana, Oklahoma, and New Mexico, in addition to a number of Kentucky-breds.
Last year, a Louisiana-bred son of Pleasant Tap set a record with a price of $330,000. The sale generated a gross of $3,463,700, an average of $13,322, and a median of $6,200, all sizable increases over the 2006 auction.