Fasig-Tipton Horses of Racing Age Sale Fills Niche

As a bloodstock agent who buys for some of North America's elite stables, Steve Young does not pass up an opportunity to find the next big horse, and he was among the first to embrace the July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale when it was introduced by Fasig-Tipton Kentucky.

Out of the sale's second year in 2014, Young acquired an unraced 3-year-old daughter of Harlington named Wavell Avenue for $70,000.

That proved to be a very fortuitous purchase, as Wavell Avenue went on to win seven of 20 starts, including the TwinSpires Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1), and earn more than $1.1 million for Michael Dubb, David Simon, Head of Plains Partners, and Bethlehem Stables.

This year's edition July 9 will precede The July Sale—Fasig-Tipton's annual selected summer yearling sale—and as of July 7 had drawn 175 entries, with the sales company possibly adding more horses prior to the 4 p.m. ET start Monday.

Since its inception in 2013, the HRA sale has proven to be a timely venue for stables seeking to move horses to new homes—either to capitalize on the individual's successes or to see whether a change of scenery can improve a horse's chance for success—and for buyers looking to add stock in midyear.

According to Fasig-Tipton, sale graduates have made nearly 5,000 starts and earned $29 million since going through the ring, with 28% stakes horses and more than 50 stakes wins.

This year's catalog cover features recent graded stakes-winning graduates Bullards Alley (Pattison Canadian International Stakes, G1T); Ivy Bell (Inside Information Stakes, G2); Fear the Cowboy (Harlan's Holiday Stakes, G3); and Go Noni Go (DRF Bets Bourbonette Oaks, G3).  

The 2014 sale, which included the dispersal of Melnyk Racing Stables by Taylor Made Sales Agency, out of which Wavell Avenue was bought, has been the highest-grossing HRA sale to date, with 109 head bringing $8,426,000.

In 2017, 84 of the 99 horses through the ring were sold for gross receipts of $8,083,000, for an average price of $96,226 and a $56,000 median price.

In addition to being scheduled in conjunction with the yearling sale, the auction falls just prior to the race meets at Saratoga Race Course and Del Mar, which offers an opportunity for a quick return on some of the graduates.

"It's a timely sale, coming in front of the two big summer meets, and the results have been good," said Young, who noted that a change of stable or racing locale can be positive for some horses. "Sometimes you have preconceived notions of what they want or what they don't want to do, and the change helps."

"I think it fills an important niche in the marketplace from both buyers' and sellers' perspectives," said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. "It has grown in terms of quantity, and the quality is attractive."

Browning said scheduling the HRA and yearling sales on consecutive days benefits both.

"I think the two sales complement each other very well, and I'm pleased and optimistic about both sales this year," he said. "Everybody in this business is a horse junkie to a certain extent. You may think you're going to buy a horse of racing age, and you leave with two yearlings. Or you think you're going to (buy) a couple of yearlings, and you leave here with two horses of racing age. It's kind of fun to watch those dynamics take place."

One of the sale's strengths is the ability of an owner or trainer to take advantage of a recent strong performance, such as a first stakes win or an impressive maiden or allowance win.

"It's a good opportunity, especially for a horse coming off a big effort—strike while the iron is hot," said Walker Hancock of Claiborne Farm, which has a consignment to this year's sale for the first time. "It's an appealing place to sell a horse this time of year, rather than waiting until the end of the year."

"The addition of the Horses of Racing (Age) Sale has helped the July yearling sale, because (HRA) brings more people, especially trainers, there," said Mark Taylor of Taylor Made.

While the stakes winners or horses with strong recent performances will attract the most attention, Taylor said there is a diverse group with broad appeal.

"There are a lot of older horses that are very useful that are being sold off by larger stables that don't think they are quite graded-stakes quality but are very nice horses for somebody to campaign," he explained.

Entries may be reviewed via the sale's enhanced online catalog, which features pedigrees, race videos, statistical links, Ragozin "sheet" numbers, real-time past performances, and assessments of each horse by the Daily Racing Form's national handicapper, Mike Watchmaker.