Heat Is On at Fasig-Tipton Under Tack Show May 17

With near-record temperatures in the Baltimore area May 17, many consignors of horses entered in next week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale praised the sale company's decision a year ago to spread the under tack show breezes over three days.

An expanded catalog commensurate with the sale's increased popularity among buyers and sellers prompted the move to three days of works, but in view of the near-record temperatures that prompted an air quality alert from the National Weather Service, the shorter sessions were looking good Wednesday.

"An 8 o'clock start time and getting it over early is awesome," said Randy Mills. "It is much better for the horses and it's made it more comfortable for everybody. It gives people more time to do their jobs."

"It's hot now," consignor Cary Frommer said after the Wednesday session ended in early afternoon. "If we still had another two to three hours it would be horrendous. I don't think you have any choice but to have three days with this many horses."

Eddie Woods disagrees, noting the additional overhead that comes with each additional day on the road from his Florida base.

"It should be two days," the consignor said. "Going another hour or hour-and-a-half would be no big deal. This is by far the most expensive sale we attend, except for the expense of flying horses to California. If I had my vote the breeze show would be Thursday and Friday."

The sub-:10 eighth-mile workout remained elusive Wednesday as seven juveniles shared the fastest breeze time.

Meanwhile, four horses breezed the quarter-mile in :21 2/5, equaling the fastest time at that distance for the first two days of the three days of workouts for horses entered in the sale that takes place May 22-23 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Md.