New York Breeders Slots Yearling Sale for August

The New York Breeders' Sales Co. is planning two sales in Saratoga Springs for 2005. A yearling sale will be held Aug. 11-12, with a mixed sale to follow Oct. 17-18. The sales will be conducted at the show grounds on Union Avenue adjacent to Saratoga racetrack.

The two-day yearling sale will be sandwiched between the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga select yearling sale Aug. 9-10 and Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale Aug. 14-15. That's six days of action from Tuesday through Monday, with only Saturday dark.

Sale company officials said they chose the yearling sale dates between the two Fasig-Tipton sales and during the Saratoga race meet to take advantage of the large crowd of people expected to be in the area.

"You have the biggest world-class audience in the world in town during that time so you have to take advantage of what you have," said Todd Venetz, assistant director of sales at New York Breeders' Sales Co. "I believe we will have some very good horses entered in the sale and the buyers will come looking for good horses."

The New York Breeders' Sales Co., formed in the summer of 2004, held its inaugural two-day mixed sale in September 2004 at Saratoga. The sale grossed $1,218,700 and averaged $6,381 for 191 hips sold.

After the first sale, the 40 shareholders and board members of the sale company met to discuss ways to improve the sale, such as changing the dates and splitting the sale into a mixed sale and a yearling sale.

"I think splitting the sale is an excellent idea," Venetz said. "We'll see how it works out and then go from there. I think it will be best for both buyers and sellers. We kind of hit the ground running last year, so there is always room for improvement."

In addition to the calendar change, the sale company won't charge a nomination fee. The entry fee per horse is $300, with a standard 5% commission ($500 minimum commission). The sale company is working on a revised bone warranty for the August sale.