Through two sessions, 356 horses had sold for a gross of $7,730,500 and an average of $21,715. The number sold was the same as a year ago, but the gross and average each fell 3.2%. The cumulative buy-back rate was 27.6%, with 136 of the 492 horses sold failing to find new homes.During the second session last year, 190 horses sold for a gross of $4,108,800, an average of $21,625, and a median of $15,000. The 356 horses sold during the first two sessions in 2002 grossed $7,987,500 and averaged $22,437.The sale continues through Friday, with sessions beginning at 10:30 a.m. each day.
Business was not as brisk Wednesday during the second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's April auction of 2-year-olds in training in Central Florida. Some key business figures fell behind last year's pace after an upswing in the opening session.The 170 horses sold grossed $3,202,500, down 10.5% and 22.1%, respectively, from the comparable session in 2002. The average price of $18,838 represented a decline of 12.9%, and the median price of $12,000 was down 20.0%. The buy-back rate was 29.5%, with 71 of the 241 horses offered failing to find new homes.A bay daughter of Larrupin' sold for the highest price of $175,000 to Peter Karches, who purchased her from Halcyon Hammock Farm, agent. Bred in Maryland by Ryehill Farm, the filly had never been offered before at a public auction. Her dam Irish and Fuzzy, an 11-year-old daughter of Irish Open, won seven races and also finished second in the Thelma and Pontalba Stakes at the Fair Grounds. The filly worked a quarter mile in :21, the fastest time for the distance during the four sessions of the sale's under tack show.
