Ocala Breeders' Sales Kicks Off Juvenile Sale Season

As he was leading a contingent of partners in Kenwood Racing through the barn area at Ocala Breeders' Sales in search of future racing prospects that will be on offer during the March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, trainer Kelly Breen was impressed with what he saw.

"There are a lot of nice-looking horses here—good-looking individuals," said Breen, who recently transitioned back into the 2-year-old market after mainly buying yearlings. "Most of my horses have been bought as yearlings rather than 2-year-olds. When I was an assistant to Ben Perkins Sr., we mostly bought 2-year-olds. So I'm well-rounded, whether it's a 2-year-old sale or picking horses out of a field."

If Breen and the number of other owners, trainers, and agents inspecting the horses under sunny North Central Florida skies is any indication, the March 12-13 auction is poised for success.

"People seem to have an appetite for horses and the breeze show (three-day workouts) was better attended than before, so I think it will be a good sale," said consignor Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables.

"I think we have a good representation of domestic and international buyers, so that bodes well," OBS director of sales Tod Wojciechowski said. "We've seen a lot of familiar faces but some new ones as well. The activity in the barn area has been very good from what I've heard, so I think we're poised for a good sale."

As the first public auction of the 2-year-old sale season that goes into June, the OBS sale serves as a bellwether of the juvenile market.

Topped by an $875,000 Scat Daddy filly, last year's auction saw 261 horses sell for $43,027,000, down from the previous year's gross of $56,765,000 for 304 sold. The average fell to $164,854 from $186,727 and the median was up to $105,000 from $95,000 in 2017.

"Since we expanded the sale format in 2015, March has really become a much broader marketplace," Wojciechowski said. "We were able to add a group of precocious horses in addition to the select-type horses they already expect in March."

While much of the recent synergy in all recent North American sales has been toward the top end of the market, Breen may represent the kind of middle-market buyer that has been elusive.

"I have different price points for different horses and I wish I could buy the sale-topper and some day maybe I will," Breen said. "I've done well buying in the blue-collar market."

With 577 head cataloged, the sale begins at 10:30 a.m. daily at OBS' newly renovated sale complex in Ocala, Fla.