Fasig-Tipton Photos
It’s not an easy time to be in the horse racing business. The sport got a lot of unwanted mainstream media attention ahead of this year’s Kentucky Derby—not for the brilliance of this season’s crop of 3-year-old colts, but for fatal racing injuries. The most recent race meet at Santa Anita Park outside of Los Angeles saw a disturbing number of equine fatalities in racing and training, 30 in all from Dec. 26 to late June.
The cause for the rise in fatal injuries isn’t immediately clear but is likely multi-faceted. Many in Southern California point out that the region had a cooler and significantly wetter winter than average, leading many in the industry to question the safety of the Santa Anita turf and dirt surfaces. The drainage and material composition of each track is geared toward the type of weather (temperature, humidity, rainfall) typically experienced in that track’s geographic region. Track surface experts however, failed to find significant issues with Santa Anita’s tracks during a shutdown of racing for several weeks in early March. Since then, officials have suggested there may be a link between sealing the surface—compressing the top, fluffy layer ahead of rain to improve water run-off—and some (though not all) of the injuries.
The track has taken unprecedented steps to improve safety and its public image, requiring extra veterinary reviews for horses racing and training, limiting whip use, and further restriction therapeutic medications. Even so, some animal rights groups have lobbied for an end to racing in California and beyond, saying it’s just too dangerous and that danger isn’t limited to Santa Anita.
Perhaps surprisingly, this did not translate to abysmal figures at the recently-concluded sales at Faisg-Tipton. The auction house wrapped its July Selected Horses of Racing Age auction on Jul. 8 and its July Sale of yearlings Jul. 9 with economic indicators which were mostly steady as compared to last year.
The July Sale of yearlings finished with 202 horses sold for an average of $92,183, down 9 percent from last year. Gross receipts of $18,621,000 were down 6 percent, while median was unchanged. The buyback rate was 33 percent, steady from 30 percent last year.
The July Selected Horses of Racing Age auction saw more notable declines—average price was down 26 percent to $68,932 and median was down 10 percent to $45,000. Total sales for 95 horses were down 29 percent to $6,548,500.
Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning told media afterwards he believed the difference for racing aged horses had more to do with this year’s catalogue than the overall market. While any year’s collection of yearlings is fairly consistent because the same broodmare and stallion are breeding year after year, very few horses will go in the auction ring mid-race career. With such a small pool to draw from each year, there is more variability and of these, the auction house could get lucky (or note) with recent race performances, veterinary evaluations, etc. on a horse in active training whose appearance at the sale may have been a last-minute decision.
Part of the reason for a steady yearling market could be a belief by industry insiders that this too, shall pass. From time to time, major race meets have seen spikes in fatal injuries, and often additional precautions improve those figures, mostly returning life at the track to business as usual. Some owners believe that racing will ride out this wave of negative publicity and emerge with some much-needed reforms at the end of it.
Another reason may be Faisg-Tipton’s diverse buying market. Though the July sales aren’t as internationally diverse as the November Sale or the company’s sale of select (and very expensive) yearlings in Saratoga Springs in August, there is some foreign interest, and plenty of variability among domestic buyers.
Fasig-Tipton Photos
The top-priced yearling at the July sale went to the now-classic team of WinStar Farm and China Horse Club, who were majority partners in 2018 Triple Crown winner Justify. Hip 22 was a colt by Flatter cost $440,000 and comes from the stable of breeder Susan King. King produces “Kentucky-bred” horses because they are foaled here, but the Flatter colt actually spent most of his life near her home base in Lebanon, Ohio.
Among the racing age set, Grade 3-placed Jalen Journey brought the top price of $510,000 from racing stable Rockingham Ranch. The 4-year-old gelding came to auction just days after picking up an important win in the Grade 3 Smile Sprint at Gulfstream Park for Commonwealth Stable and trainer Kathleen O’Connell. Jalen Journey will head to the barn of trainer Peter Miller, who is based in Southern California.
The next major Thoroughbred auction in Kentucky will be the Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Sept. 9-22.