More than 170 Cataloged for Texas Yearling, HORA Sale

A catalog of 175 head is now online for the Texas Summer Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale set for Aug. 24 at noon CT at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie.

The sale will kick off with a horses of racing age session, including 2-year-olds in training by sires such as Too Much Bling , Texas Red , Astrology , and Twirling Candy . Among the older horses on offer are Herbs Love, a daughter of Etesaal who in her most recent start won the San Jacinto Turf Stakes at Lone Star. 

The yearling session will include 151 head by leading regional sires such as Too Much Bling, Star Guitar , Flat Out , Court Vision , and My Golden Song , as well as prominent sires Tonalist , Sky Mesa , Bayern , Honor Code , and California Chrome . 

Sponsored by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park, the sale will have bidders on-site with enhanced safety protocols and for the first time will also offer live online bidding for those who cannot attend in person. Online bidders must be registered one week before the sale, no later than noon Aug. 17.

"We had to cancel our 2-year-old sale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we've been working since then to ensure we are able to conduct this sale because of its importance to the region," said Mary Ruyle, the executive director of the TTA. "We normally wouldn't have a horses of racing age session at this sale, but we are happy to offer that this year to fill the needs of consignors and buyers. The HORA section is quite impressive." 

Ruyle credited higher purses in Texas and a new consignor incentive program as two of the reasons that this year's sale has twice the number of yearlings as last year.

"In addition to boosting purses in Texas, the passage of HB 2463 allows the horse industry to create new ways to grow, so we were able to provide consignors with a rebate of up to half the consignment fee," she said. "We saw a great response to that incentive, which resulted in more consignors bringing their horses to sell in Texas."

The sale will utilize a live online bidding system along with improved online video.

"We made an investment in technology to allow buyers to bid from anywhere," sales director Tim Boyce said. "Starting in early August, we will allow online bidders to register in advance, so we encourage anyone who is interested to do that on our website."

The online catalog and more information are available at ttasales.com.