Market Plays 'Fair' at Horses of Racing Age Sale

Results of horses of racing age sales are among the most unpredictable of all markets from year to year, as the types of horses on offer can be highly variable.

That was evident during the July 8 Fasig-Tipton July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale that saw a deep drop in gross and average prices.

From 204 head cataloged in the regular and supplemental catalogs, Fasig-Tipton reported 95 head changed hands for gross receipts of $6,548,500, at an average price of $68,932, and a $45,000 median price. The 41 horses that went unsold represented an RNA rate of 30.1%.

Last year, 100 horses grossed $9,318,000 for a $93,180 average and $50,000 median. The 19 horses that went unsold equated to a 16% RNA rate. Last year's sale topper was My Miss Tapit, a daughter of Tapit  bought by Breeze Easy for $700,000.

This year's topper at $510,000 was Jalen Journey, a 4-year-old gelding who finished second in the June 29 Smile Sprint (G3) at Gulfstream Park. Consigned by Four Star Sales, agent, Jalen Journey was purchased by J. Raymie Lightner, agent for Rockingham Ranch.

Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said there were no real surprises Monday.

"Overall the market is exactly what you would expect—great competition on what is perceived to be the better quality offerings and not as much competition on what are perceived to be the less quality offerings," he said. "The composition of a horses of racing age sale catalog changes dramatically from year to year and it can change dramatically from weekend to weekend, based upon horses that come in, horses that don't come in, vetting both pre- and post-arrival upon the sale grounds.

Overall, Browning said it was a fair market, and that the numbers would have been better had some of the top prospects not been bought back.

The top-priced RNA was Fierce Lady, a 2-year-old daughter of Competitive Edge  who was an impressive maiden winner and went unsold on a final bid of $725,000.

"I thought the market was fair tonight," Browning added. "We missed on a couple of the more expensive horses. The owners have options. I'm sure we're going to see some of the higher priced RNA horses running in top races in the near future and we wish those connections the best of luck and hopefully we will get an opportunity to sell them down the road."

Taylor Made Sales Agency's Mark Taylor said the upper end of the market held its own but he thought there was a paucity of buyers for lesser quality stock.

"On the quality horses, it's pretty good," Taylor said. "I thought there would be a stronger appetite for racehorses that could just go run. And it seems like on those it's still dicey and when you get very far under $50,000, it's a precipitous drop."

Bradley Weisbord of ELiTE, which had a large number of horses withdrawn from the sale but ended up selling nine of 10 offered for $970,000, said the high turnover rate was due to realistic expectations by the agency's clients.

"We had our weakest group of horses we've had in the three years we've been selling here," he said. "For our group, all of our horses sold well in excess of their reserves. I think that's mainly due to our clients being reasonable on their stock. We sold horses for very intelligent owners. They were very realistic in their reserves."

The HRA sale precedes the July 9 The July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected yearling sale that begins at 10 a.m. Tuesday.