Energy at Fasig-Tipton Continues into NY-Bred Sale

The Fasig-Tipton sales grounds in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., sprang back to life the morning of Aug. 12 when showings began for the upcoming New York-Bred Yearlings Sale.

Following a mid-week lull after a record-setting edition Aug. 8-9 of The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton's select yearling sale in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., consignors, buyers, breeders, and handlers were back at it, with interest from buyers hitting a high pitch by mid-morning. 

To be held during an evening session Aug. 14 and a day session Aug. 15, the sale cataloged 583 horses that have attracted the interest of both end users and pinhookers.

Inspecting horses at the Denali consignment on Thursday morning, pinhooker Tom McCrocklin evaluated options from both a seller's and a buyer's perspective.  

"The horses sell really well here," he said of horses purchased as weanlings and brought to this sale. "And then oftentimes when you get to the 2-year-old sales, you're selling a New York-bred. There are the Central Bankers, the Freuds, the Chester Broman Tapits, and War Fronts. So when I looked at New York-breds, I'm probably looking for an open-company type horse that happens to be foaled in New York, and that's an extra card that you get to carry in your pocket as a bonus."

Fasig-Tipton, the New York Racing Association, the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, and New York Thoroughbred Breeders worked together to craft a multi-day focus on horses bred in the state. That included scheduling three stakes races for New York-breds Friday and moving the annual New York-bred awards ceremony to that evening.

"Representing New York Thoroughbred Breeders, we want to do all that we can to provide opportunities to highlight this sale, "said Najja Thompson, executive director of NYTB. "Last year Boyd (Browning Jr.) approached me and other entities and suggested that it would be great if we could get some New York-bred stakes ahead of the sale. We worked hard to get it done, and we got it done."

The president and CEO of Fasig-Tipton, Browning noted that two of those Friday stakes races were won by progeny of Central Banker  , a stallion based in New York who is represented by seven yearlings in the sale.

"Everyone was very, very, very helpful," said Browning of the scheduling efforts. "We're very appreciative of the support from New York Thoroughbred Breeders and NYRA, and with two Central Bankers winning impressively, it certainly creates some positive momentum and buzz for the sale."  

Having purchased two horses out of The Saratoga Sale, Liz Crow, co-founder of ELiTe Sales, was back on the grounds Aug. 13. 

"We have owners that love to race in New York and several that look forward to having horses in Saratoga and watching them run," she said. "This sale is always a target for a certain group of our clients.

"This is a sale where people are looking for athletes," she added. "We're looking for the right physical, and sires are almost secondary."

Allaire Ryan, sales director for Lane's End Farm, concurred.

"Here, it's about the athletes," she said. "There's a good mixture of New York sires and Kentucky sires, but for the ones that are going to do well, it's about the physical. The fun part about this sale is that you get a bunch of trainers and local end users that are just looking for a horse to go on and have some fun with."  

John McMahon manages McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds—which stands three stallions, Central Banker, Solomini  , and Redesdale  —and he pointed to another recent innovation as an incentive to buy.

"What really needs to be acknowledged," he said, "is the new bonus program in place for New York-sired New York-breds."

In early June, NYRA began offering a $5,000 bonus to the New York-sired and -bred winners of open company, New York-bred restricted maiden special weight, allowance, and allowance optional claiming races.

"New York has a very, very good program that continues to be enhanced," said McMahon.

"That incentive is key to promoting the good stallions that we have here," said Thompson, "and their performances on the track do that, too."  

"The New York-bred program is certainly the strongest state-bred program in the United States," said Browning. "We're fortunate that the quality of horses that the program has been producing continues to increase every year."