Fasig Tipton Yearling Sale
Hip760FTK10-13FTK23
Hip 760, the top selling horse at the October Fasig-Tipton Yearling Sale.Photo Courtesy of Fasig-Tipton
Lexington, KY - Fasig-Tipton closed a record-setting Kentucky Fall Yearling Sale on Wednesday night, continuing the industry rebound apparent at recent thoroughbred auctions in Lexington and across the globe.
A total of 818 horses sold at the three-day auction for a gross total of $27,908,000, and an average price of $34,117---both of which were the highest figures in the auction’s history. The average price jumped a staggering 31 percent from last year’s sale. The $17,000 median price was up 33 percent from last year.
The proportion of horses not attaining their reserve bid was also lower, from 20 percent last year to 16 percent at this year’s auction.
“What you’re seeing in the overall market place is a lower supply, and as a result of fewer horses, higher prices,” said Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning. “I think it goes back to Economics 101 – supply and demand are at work, and the reduced supply has certainly had a positive influence on sales prices.”
The highest price of the three-day event was for Hip 760, a filly by Kentucky stallion Smart Strike out of stakes winner and stakes producer Handpainted. The filly was consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales and was purchased by Borges Torrealba Holdings, the Brazilian group which announced a partnership with Lexington’s Three Chimneys Farm last November.
Although the top-level prices were not as high as those at the recent Keeneland September yearling sale, buyers and sellers agreed that the Fasig-Tipton October sale is a critical part of the market.
“The market’s been strong all year long. The thing that’s happened at this sale is that it’s attracted stronger horses because it’s shown it can support those types of horses,” said trainer Mark Casse.
Casse was one of the biggest spenders of the sale, purchasing a $500,000 Distorted Humor colt consigned by Hill ‘n’ Dale Sales for Conquest Stables. Conquest’s Ernie Semersky and Dory Newell, who are relatively new to the Thoroughbred business, have already struck it big with Breeders’ Cup contender My Conquestadory. Mark and son Justin signed the tickets of 18 horses in the auction, spending as much as $500,000 and as little as $20,000.
Casse, who is based at Woodbine Racecourse in Canada, said the lack of a six-figure pricetag on a yearling isn’t necessarily an indicator of future performance.
“I’ve had really good luck out of this sale. I’ve had a Canadian Oaks winner, we’ve had Grade 1 winners. It’s a good sale,” he said.
Boyd Browning echoed Casse’s observation that buyers sometimes get more than they paid for once a yearling hits the track.
“One of the great advertisements for this sale is that we’ve sold two Kentucky Derby winners in the last ten years. One of them, Big Brown was $60,000 and that was followed up with Mine that Bird who brought $9,500 in the sale,” he said.
For sellers, the tough competition at the top of the market makes the October sale the perfect place to send a horse who missed the Keeneland auction due to a last-minute injury or other event.
“I think this is an interesting sale because of the mixing of all different ranges of the market. You’ll have horses going through bringing $2,000, and you might have one walk in behind it that will bring $250,000. That’s an interesting dynamic that doesn’t happen in many places,” said Mark Taylor, vice president of marketing and public sales operations at Taylor Made Sales.
Taylor said the market is competitive in the October for the higher end yearlings, priced at $100,000 and above, and for lower-end horses at $10,000 and lower. For those in the middle, it can be more challenging to find a buyer.
Taylor said the higher attendance at Keeneland auctions usually takes care of the middle market. While at smaller sales like this one, buyers are usually looking for a low-cost investment or a six-figure horse. Despite that difficulty, Nichoalsville-based Taylor Made was doing a great business at the October sale.
“Overall it’s been great. I think our gross for Day One was 30 percent more than we expected,” he said.
The October sale is the latest in a series of yearling auctions to surpass the results of recent years. The Goffs Orby Yearling Sale in Ireland earlier this month not only saw increases in averages and gross receipts, but also a record price for a yearling filly sold at public auction. The horse, by the late sire Montjeu, dropped the hammer at €2,850,000 ($3.8 million) to Coolmore Stud’s M.V. Magnier. Averages were also up at the Tattersalls October Yearling sale in Newmarket, England. Closer to home, Keeneland’s September yearling auction saw its highest average since 2006, with 18 seven-figure prices in 12 days.
Browning said the yearling market is a solid reflection of the state of the Thoroughbred industry—and he anticipates the momentum continuing into November’s one-day breeding stock sale on Nov. 4.
“We’re always optimistic. We think that the November sale will have a lot of quality offerings this year and would expect the level of interest and enthusiasm to remain very high,” he said.