Daily Racing Form National Digital Edition
OPTIMISM HIGH AS FIRST 2-YEAR-OLD SALE NEARS
There’s good reason for optimism heading into this spring and the North American 2-yearold sales season.
The racing calendar nationwide, with strong purse structures at many tracks, has led to demand for young stock at all three major North American auction houses – FasigTipton, Keeneland, and the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. All are coming off strong 2022 2-year-old sales, and continued momentum for this market segment was seen in sales of yearlings and horses of racing age through the summer, fall, and winter.
There are a few changes to the juvenile sale calendar for 2023. It was reported in December that Fasig-Tipton was placing its boutique Gulfstream sale of 2-year-olds in training on hiatus for this season, with decisions about the sale’s future still on hold. The high-end South Florida sale, which has been conducted at Gulfstream since 2015, had a small catalog in 2022, with 52 horses ultimately offered from a catalog of 103 hips, and 35 sold. Still, the sale is a higher-end venue, with a pair of seven-figure horses leading the 2022 edition.
To absorb some of the horse population and to make up for the loss of the Gulfstream sale on the calendar, Fasig-Tipton has added a June Midlantic sale at its venue at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, following the company’s popular May sale at that facility. FasigTipton also could continue to alter the landscape by adding digital sales to its fluid calendar – including its popular singlehorse “flash sales” as owners look to strike while the iron is hot on recent winners.
Another 2-year-old sales change is a slight shift on the calendar of Keeneland’s everevolving April horses of racing age sale in order not to conflict with the OBS spring sale the week prior.
In chronological order, here is a look at the 2023 season and the prospects for various sales.
OBS March sale of 2-year-olds in training
March 20-22, Ocala, Fla. Under-tack preview show March 14-17
The OBS March sale has pole position and must establish market momentum for the season. Last year’s sale roared out of the gate with across-theboard gains in major economic categories, with a $1.2 million More Than Ready colt helping to generate a 13 percent jump in average. The sale also posted a 25 percent gain in median and an improved buyback rate of 13 percent. The median and buyback rate are considered key figures in illustrating market health and activity, as they are less likely to be influenced by outlying prices at the top end of the market, as average and gross can be. All three of the OBS sales are preceded by under-tack preview shows on the Ocala Training Center’s all-weather Safetrack surface.
Texas Thoroughbred Assoc. 2-year-olds in training sale
April 5, Grand Prairie, Texas Under-tack preview show April 3
This sale, conducted at Lone
Star Park, has been bolstered by the success of recent graduates. Last year’s $200,000 topper, Free Drop Maddy, won her maiden in the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity at Lone Star Park after a strong second on debut at Churchill Downs. She then won the Donovan L. Ferguson Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds. Another 2022 graduate, Tensas Candy, won the My Trusty Cat Stakes at Delta Downs.
“Our graduates are proof of the quality our consignors have offered each year,” TTA sales director Foster Bridewell said. “We’re excited to get to work on putting together another solid edition in April.”
OBS spring sale of 2-year-olds in training
April 25-28, Ocala, Fla. Under-tack preview show April 16-22
The OBS April sale is considered the auction company’s flagship sale and also is something of a bellwether for the national market. The auction typically offers the largest catalog of the season and offers a broad spectrum of horses for buyers at all levels.
The top of the marketplace was electric last year, with a diverse group of both domestic and international buyers leading to a sale-record gross, smashing the mark established in 2021, as the marketplace roared back from the pandemic struggles of 2020. The average price was up 27 percent from 2021, and the median spiked 30 percent; both also set records, breaking pre-pandemic marks.
Five seven-figure horses at the sale were led by a $2.3 million Uncle Mo colt. Now named Arabian Knight, he is unbeaten in two starts and is considered a leading Kentucky Derby hopeful.
Keeneland April horses of racing age sale
April 30, Lexington, Ky.
The Keeneland April sale, which will certainly include some 2-year-olds in addition to its horses of racing age, has been an evolving event in recent years. The April sale was a popular 2-year-old auction for decades before changes to the economy resulted in that sale being placed on hiatus following its 2014 edition. The sale returned in 2019 as a combined event for 2-year-olds and horses of racing age. A similar event was planned for 2020, but was forced to be canceled, along with Keeneland’s spring race meeting, by the first wave of the pandemic.
In 2021, Keeneland conducted the April horses of racing age sale on the final Monday of the month, three days following the conclusion of the spring meet, and five days before the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Last year, the sale posted strong figures when held on the final Friday evening of April, just hours after the conclusion of Keeneland’s closing-day card, as the company built around the synergy between the racing and bloodstock worlds.
A similar event was planned for this year, but Keeneland recently announced it would shift the sale to the final Sunday
afternoon of April, in order to avoid a conflict with the preceding OBS spring sale.
“The April selected sale feeds off the energy and excitement of the spring meet and gives horsemen a terrific opportunity to cash in on or buy quality individuals, especially those who run well at Keeneland, as they transition to summer racing,” Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said. “While we feel closing day remains the ideal position for the April sale, the shift to Sunday this year still allows us to properly showcase these horses before attention moves to Louisville and Kentucky Derby week. We look forward to resuming the sale’s spring meet closing-day schedule in 2024 and beyond.”
Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-year-olds in training sale
May 22-23, Timonium, Md. Under-tack preview show May 16-18
The Midlantic sale has developed from a solid regional sale into one of the leading auctions in the nation, buoyed by a constant stream of graded stakes-winning graduates and the benefits of breezing over a dirt track. The sale typically draws a large crowd of horsemen remaining in town from the Preakness Stakes at nearby Pimlico the weekend prior.
Last year’s Midlantic sale was led by the most expensive 2-year-old in North America for the season, a $3.55 million Bernardini colt who broke the sale record set by Eclipse Award champion Gamine in the 2019 edition. Hejazi is now a Grade 1-placed winner. Led by that colt, the 2022 sale gross and average were records, while the median dipped slightly from the record set in 2021.
This year’s Midlantic sale, and its new June counterpart, could get an added boost from the hiatus of the Gulfstream sale. The Midlantic sale is now the only venue for 2-year-olds to breeze on dirt at an under-tack show.
OBS June sale of 2-year-olds and horses of racing age
June 13-15, Ocala, Fla. Under-tack preview show June 5-10
In addition to providing an option on the calendar for lateblooming juveniles or those who were scratched from or failed to meet their reserve at prior auctions, this sale offers a selection of active racehorses. While last year’s average sale price dipped 5 percent, the crucial median did spike 25 percent.
Fasig-Tipton Midlantic June 2-year-olds in training sale
June 28, Timonium, Md. Under-tack preview show June 26
A new auction for 2023, this is the last 2-year-old sale of the season and the only sale in June to be conducted over a dirt track, making it ideal for later-developing dirt horses.