Sourcing Future Champions at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale

The premier annual event at the Spa, Aug. 7-8, allows buyers to purchase top-end prospects during the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale of select yearlings. This year the catalog features 235 exciting pages of progeny by the best stallions and out of prolific and accomplished female families. The exciting evening action gets underway in the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET Monday night.

Regarded as the most prestigious and unique offering of yearlings, the sale is situated alongside the summer race meet in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., at the historic Saratoga Race Course. The results of the two-night sale speak for themselves, ranking No. 1 among North American yearling sales by percentage of grade 1 winners and percentage of graded stakes winners sold.

"We are looking forward to a very strong marketplace, and we have an outstanding group of horses on the sales grounds, Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning said. "There has been lots of activity already with buyers looking and inspecting. The initial feedback we are receiving on the horses is positive. We are excited; having a couple of days of great racing ahead of the sale helps set the momentum and creates the atmosphere that makes Saratoga such a special place."

During last year's record-shattering sale, a gross of $66,955,000, up 21% over the previous year, was recorded. An average price of $468,217, an increase of 15% over 2022, and a median increase of 7% to $375,000 was made. Of the 179 yearlings through the ring, 143 changed hands, leaving 36 RNAs, representing 20.1%.

"Last year was a remarkable sale, almost magical—selling 14 horses for $1 million or more," Browning recalled. "It's tough to try and match a sale like that; we had a significant increase over the 2021 levels, which were also outstanding. We are hopeful for a similar marketplace that we had last year; I'm not sure the numbers will be as high statistically, but we hope so and strive to match those figures. However, that doesn't indicate the overall success of the sale; the key statistics of keeping your RNA rate in check make it difficult for buyers to buy horses and sellers to get as much money as they thought, but it will be a fair and balanced marketplace. We think there are some exceptional offerings this year and are excited."

There were 14 yearlings sold for $1 million or more during last year's two-day sale, including the highest-priced yearling filly sold in North America in 2022. The Curlin   filly out of America  was purchased at $2 million by West Point Thoroughbreds/Woodford Racing/3C Stable. Bred in Kentucky by celebrity chef Bobby Flay the filly was consigned by longtime partner Stone Farm. Now named Sedona, the chestnut is sibling to grade 1 placed winner First Captain  and is putting in works at Belmont Park towards her first start.

The highest priced offering from 2022 came from the Gainesway draft, by U.S. leading sire Gun Runner  , out of Debby Oxley's grade 1 winning mare Heavenly Love . The partnership of White Birch Farm and M.V. Magnier signed a final bid of $2.3 million to add the colt, now named Sierra Leone, to their racing arsenal.

Tuesday evening, the sale begins with a single share being offered for exciting stallion Not This Time  . Out of three crops to race the son of Giant's Causeway has notched five grade 1 winners, 11 graded stakes winners, and 27 black type winners, including Champion 3-Year-Old Colt Epicenter  , Manhattan Stakes (G1T) winner Up to the Mark , Dubai Golden Shaheen (G1) winner Sibelius , Madison Stakes (G1) winner Just One Time , and Princess Noor  winner of the Del Mar Debutante Stakes (G1).

For the first time at public auction this year, breeder Spendthrift Farm will offer the Curlin colt out of champion mare Beholder . Taylor Made Sales will consign the collector's item colt on the second day as Hip 165 from Barn 10. The Henny Hughes  mare amassed over $6 million on the track with trainer Richard Mandella, cementing her name in history books with 13 graded company wins and four championship titles.

"It is very exciting to have the first offering from the family of four-time champion Beholder here; she checks all of the boxes and now is the producer of a grade 3 winner," said Frank Taylor, vice president of sales for Taylor Made Sales. "Her Bolt d'Oro 2-year-old just worked in :59 and change and is getting ready to start; they think this filly has the most ability of any of her foals to date. With the mare being a half to Into Mischief, all of the pedigree...there has never been a yearling offered where both parents had eight Eclipse awards. He's an exceptional colt, has a great walk to him, and is very athletic and smart; he's a top prospect."

Kentucky-based consignor Denali Stud brings a draft of nine standouts and looks to the big picture for their offerings, with long-term success past Monday and Tuesday night as the ultimate goal.

"We hold ourselves to a high standard and criteria for what we bring up here," Conrad Bandoroff, vice president of Denali Stud, said. "This year, we have a group of nine standout individuals and a high confidence. There are some top offerings and quality stock here. We are very fortunate to have one of the best yards to showcase these horses on the grounds, and we have been lucky to have a lot of success up here at Saratoga. There is a level of expectation when people walk into this yard in Barn 7A.

"Last year, we sold a Gun Runner colt for $1.4 million, a Munnings filly for $700,000, and a Curlin colt towards the end of the sale for $950,000, and I think the important things are how they come out of the consignment," said Bandoroff. "The Munnings filly (Sam's Treasure), who sold to Ben McElroy and Wesley Ward for Sam Ross and Breeze Easy, won the second time out very impressively here at Saratoga and is pointed toward the Spinaway (Sept. 3). If a horse you sell, wins a grade 1 you get a plaque above the stall door, so we are hoping to get a plaque here this year."

Leading bloodstock agent Donato Lanni purchased four yearlings last year for a sales gross of $3,500,000, at an average of $875,000, followed by Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas who purchased five as agent for receipts of $2,725,000 at an average of $545,000 per head. The Taylor brothers sold 27 of their 34 horse draft for gross figures of $11,710,000 to be the sales leading consignor.

Recent grade 1 winning graduates of the select sale include 2022 Horse of the Year and champion older dirt male Flightline  ; the 2022 grade 1 winning son of Good Magic  , Blazing Sevens ; 2022 New York Stakes (G1) winner Bleecker Street ; Exaulted , winner of this year's Shoemaker Mile Stakes (G1T); and the winner of this year's Preakness Stakes (G1) National Treasure .

Sure to be a memorable two evenings with fireworks signaling top prices and champagne toasts in the buyers' lounge, the boutique sale is to be noticed, especially for leading consignor Taylor Made Sales.

"I'm 60 now and have been coming to Saratoga since I was 10; I started my first few years working for Fred Seitz, and then after we got Taylor Made started, we started bringing a few horses," Taylor said. "It's been exhilarating, and the night has an electric atmosphere. We have a great setup now where we have 18 or 20 horses in each group, have good show areas, and have been able to grow this. We have topped the sale many times; I remember the year we had Vindication here (2021, he sold to Padua Stables for $2.15 million). He was an exceptional horse, but this group we have this year may be the strongest so far."

As of Sunday evening, 35 horses had been withdrawn from the sale, with 18 from Monday's session.