TTA hopes eclipse brings luck to sale

Every young horse bought at auction is purchased to some degree with the hope of winning an Eclipse Award. That result is often unlikely, and just as uncommon is a horse sold during an actual eclipse.

But this year’s Texas Thoroughbred Association summer yearling and mixed sale will be Monday, the same day the total solar eclipse will shadow the United States. If there were ever a time to believe in superstition, TTA sale director Tim Boyce said it’s now.

“My wife told me she’d be handing out eclipse sunglasses, since we’ll be selling in the middle of the full eclipse,” he said. “If you’re superstitious, I believe it’s good luck to buy a horse during a full eclipse.”

The auction will be at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas, beginning at noon Central.

The catalog, rising to 143 entries from 141, remains fairly consistent with last year’s sale. A slate of 102 yearlings will lead off the sale, followed by a 42-horse mixed offering.

Boyce described the TTA auction as resilient when compared to the struggles of Texas horsemen on the racing side, who for years have sought support from the state legislature. The TTA’s sales produce regional-level prices, and Boyce said the returns from the still-fledgling auction operation have been steady, which is unique to its corner of the state’s Thoroughbred industry.

That situation, Boyce said, could be a boon for an enterprising buyer.

“The marketplace of Thoroughbreds and the racing of Thoroughbreds are two separate worlds that are somewhat parallel,” he said. “I think people come here and they see, from the sales side of it, a soft market to come in and buy. Right now, the market nationally is kind of tight.

“The buyers and pinhookers need to find horses,” Boyce continued. “They know the market’s tight, and Keeneland’s going to be tight this year, given what we saw [at the Fasig-Tipton New York sales], so hopefully one or two [national-level buyers] will find their way [here]. I’ve been contacted by some, and I expect some to come.”

Yearling graduates of the TTA sale will be eligible for the 2018 Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity at Lone Star Park. The race is split into a pair of divisions, one for males and one for females. Each is for juveniles at five furlongs with an estimated purse of $100,000.

Last year’s sale was the first hosted by the TTA since FasigTipton held its last auction at Lone Star Park in 2014. A total of 91 horses changed hands for revenues of $779,500, the average sale price was $8,565, the median was $2,500, and the buyback rate finished at 25 percent.

Danny Pish bought the saletopper, a $105,000 Too Much Bling colt out of the unraced Mineshaft mare Fast Find, whose four winners from five runners also include stakes winners Shaded and Scooter’s Choice.

Later named Direct Dial, he races for owner William S. Farish and is trained by Steve Asmussen. He has won 1 of 3 starts and finished second in the Tremont Stakes on June 9 at Belmont Park.