Bidding opens Sunday, Jan. 7 at 9 a.m. ET and will conclude Thursday, Jan. 11 with the first listing set to close at 5 p.m. ET. The subsequent listings will close in three-minute intervals thereafter.

The past PA-bred sales conducted by Wanamaker's have produced horses of racing age that have gone on to exceed their purchase price. Dixie Cannonball (Paynter), a $5,500 graduate of the 2023 sale, has since gone on to win three races.

Among the highlights of this year's catalogue are 11 yearlings by leading fifth-crop sire Winchill and eight horses consigned by Steve Young, including four mares in foal to Peace and Justice (War Front).

“We are delighted by the continued enthusiastic response to our third annual PA-Bred Sale,” remarked Wanamaker's CEO Liza Hendriks. “This sale provides an excellent platform for local owners and breeders to showcase their horses in a state with a robust program, particularly in anticipation of the upcoming PA-Sired PA-Bred Stallion Series for 2-year-olds in 2024 and 3-year-olds in 2025.”

The post Wanamaker’s PA-Bred Sale Catalogue Available appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

This year's batch–three Yale undergrads studying economics, electrical engineering and political science–were tasked with a data-driven analysis of the economics of the national horse racing biz over the past 20 years.

Harboring no previous relationship with the industry, the three undergrads came in free of prejudice and preconceptions.

The result is a 33-page paper weaving piercing and worrying insights into the state of racehorse ownership, racetrack management and training in the country alongside findings that give tentative cause for optimism.

It's also the sort of detailed analysis of horse racing's economic foundation stones that's done all too infrequently for an industry of this size and scope.

“We've been a sport that traditionally makes decisions either around general 'chat around the pub,' or just whatever the richest guy in the room thinks,” said Joe Appelbaum, NYTHA president and an advisor on the study.

“Neither is usually a good one to make good economic decisions from,” he added.

Among the areas the three researchers focused in on were owner, trainer and horse participation; purse and handle trends; the bloodstock market; along with a side-by-side economic analysis of horse racing and other national sports.

They break their key findings down the following way:

• That the 2008 global financial meltdown significantly hastened the decline in trainer numbers, owner interest numbers and participating racehorses.

• That two areas–bloodstock prices and per-capita purse distribution–showed surprising resilience during that time.

• More pointedly, with fewer horses competing for increased purses per race, individual owner entities have generally been doing slightly better financially over the last 20 years.

• Despite areas of improved economic value for owners, costs remain high while the entertainment value of the sport appears to be declining due in part to horses racing less and working more.

• The economic divide between the bigger and smaller trainers remained unchanged over the past 20 years. That said, such a divide is a characteristic of other national professional sports.

• A consolidation of quality horses among fewer and fewer of the nation's largest stables has also triggered growing inequality among the top trainers.

• At the end of the day, the not-for-profit model of certain racetracks coupled with the “capitalist nature” of Kentucky's breeding market could serve as models for other areas of the industry.

The detailed analysis warrants a much closer look at some of the statistics woven through it, several of which mirror the TDN's own prior dives into similar topics.

PARTICIPATION

The past 20 years has seen a decrease of nearly 40% in total horses that raced, a decrease of nearly 55% in total trainers that had at least one horse make a start, and a decrease of just over 42% in the number of owners who owned at least one horse.

Interestingly, the sharp drop in trainer numbers has been reflected in the TDN's own examination of California's trainer colony. Between 2007 and 2020, California witnessed a 46.4% decrease in the number of individual trainers making at least one start: from 573 in 2007 to 307 in 2020.

Hastening the speed of these declines was the 2008 global financial meltdown.

As the researchers write, “it accelerated the declines among horses and owners, and although trainers were already leaving the industry at a significant rate prior to the recession, trainers were still impacted by the economic crisis as they rely on owners to give them their horses.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, there have been tentative signs of plateauing declines in the number of participating owner interests and competing horses.

In what will prove a surprise to no careful observer of the sport, the last 20 years has also witnessed a 37% drop in the number of races run nationally, and a 45% drop in the number of individual starts.

“The landscape of the horse racing industry has changed a lot over the past 20 years as it has lost close to half its existing participants and 37% of its total races,” the researchers write.

“As the number of races, owners, and trainers continues to decrease across the country,” they warn, “the survival of horse racing is threatened.”

PURSE DISTRIBUTION

An inflation-adjusted look at purse levels show that total purses declined by nearly 25% between 2003 and 2023.

However, declines in the number of overall races run nationally over that same period has led to a situation of improved per-race, per-start economics for owners and trainers.

Indeed, inflation-adjusted purse-per-race numbers increased nearly 18% during that time, while inflation-adjusted purse-per-start numbers increased nearly 30%.

In another similarly themed section, the researchers took a stab at quantifying the cost of owning a horse, using numbers shared by one of the nation's “leading racing operations,” which remained unnamed.

Calculating typical training costs, the average days a horse is in training, farm costs, predicted jockey fees, and stable fees, the researchers estimated that the average annual earnings by a horse required to break even for its owner in 2022 was around $66,500.

In 2003, a horse had to win more than $41,810 for the owner to profit, they found.

The findings suggest that the number of horses “breaking even” for their owners over the past 20 years grew from below 8% in 2003 to over 11% in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, there were precipitous drops in the numbers of “breaking even” horses during the 2008 economic collapse and during the worst impacts from COVID-19.

The reason for this overall increase, the researchers write, is twofold.

“There are fewer horses racing, which is an effect of the decrease in the supply of foal crop,” they wrote. “And there is a higher amount of money available due to the alternative revenue provided through the casinos at the tracks.”

FOAL CROP AND SALES

The sales rings provided the researchers with another area for optimism.

“As the economy in general and horse racing in particular emerged from the Great Recession,” they write, “one area of clear strength has been the increasing value of bloodstock at all levels.”

Indeed, the inflation-adjusted average price of weanlings, yearlings and 2-year-olds increased over the past 20 years by just over $14,500. The same goes for median prices.

Since a recession-led low back in 2009, the median sales price increased 48% to a level of $30,000 in 2022.

“This upward trend in the median price indicates that a wide range of bloodstock assets, not only just the high-end ones, have experienced value appreciation,” the researchers write.

Why is this? The researchers contend that simple supply and demand is at play as the national foal crop has declined nearly 50% over the past 20 years.

“As the supply of horses eligible to be auctioned decreased due to the lower foal crop, breeders and sellers found themselves with fewer horses. Notably, the demand for these horses remained relatively constant, or in some cases, may even have increased,” the researchers write.

The combination of reduced supply and stable demand has led to an “upward pressure on prices,” they add.

SUPER TRAINERS

The researchers also tackle one of the bete-noirs of the industry–the issue of so-called “super trainers.”

Over the last 20 years, the industry has lost nearly 55% of its trainers. Most have been “micro-trainers” and “midsize” trainers–in other words, those with between 1-10 discreet horses, and between 11-40 discreet horses respectively.

Fewer races, horses, and owners invariably lead to fewer trainers, the researchers reasonably deduce. At the same time, existing stables have consolidated size.

The average horse-per-trainer ratio has grown from 8.2 horses per trainer in 2003 to 11.1 in 2022.

“With owners preferring trainers with more horses, the micro-trainers are losing out on potential clients and struggling to maintain a sustainable business,” the researchers warn. “Many of them may have decided to exit the industry altogether due to the diminishing demand for their services.”

At the opposite end of the scale are “super trainers” who operate stables with 80 or more horses.

The number of super trainers has stayed relatively constant in the midst of declining trainer numbers. In 2003 there were 123 super trainers, and in 2022 there were 114.

These findings mirror the TDN's own analysis of the training colony in California. While the number of active trainers in California almost halved between 2007 and 2020, the number of trainers with 100-plus horses making starts stayed fairly constant.

At the same time, the Yale researchers found that the nation's super trainers have significantly increased their percentage share of total available winnings over 20 years, from 27% in 2003 to 41% in 2022.

This means that last year, 114 “super trainers”–just 3% of the total number of active trainers–accrued 41% of the total available winnings.

Intriguingly, the researchers argue that this yawning disparity between racing's select few top-tier trainers and the rest is mirrored in other professional sports, like golf and football.

“Horse racing is a unique sport as it does not have many similarities to popular sports in the country, but so is golf, and despite being unique, they are both sports that have similar issues that must be overcome to participate,” the researchers write.

“Neither is easy to stay in, especially if you are not in the top percent,” they add. “It is hard to win, hard to profit, and hard to compete, but that is exactly what makes them both sports in the first place.”

WHAT TO DO?

The report has other intriguing findings, including how the income disparity seen among trainers is reflected between racetracks, with only a select few tracks thriving and offering competitive purses.

Ultimately, said Appelbaum, the report could and perhaps should trigger a couple of key industry responses.

One would be to decrease the regulatory burden “as much as possible,” especially when it comes to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act and to sports wagering.

“The current regulatory regime both in New York and around the country is really a bit redundant and not in step with the current sports wagering environment,” he said.

The other would be to regionalize circuits of racing to provide for “better planning of races between tracks and jurisdictions,” he said.

At the end of the day, the report should also spur more of these in-depth analyses into the economic building blocks of the sport.

“Why is it three college-age interns are doing this?” Appelbaum added. “Why aren't we doing more of this ourselves?”

The post Yale Study of Racing Biz: Areas of “Surprising Strength” Amid Sharp Declines appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“We were very busy Sunday and by Monday afternoon we were busy again, so I feel pretty good about what we've seen traffic-wise,” he said.

October graduates don't get much important than Crimson Advocate (Nyquist), who was purchased by Dew Sweeper II from the consignment of Beth Bayer, agent, for $100,000 last fall and has won two of her three starts to date. A debut third to future GISW Brightwork (Outwork) at Keeneland this past April, the chestnut earned a trip to the Royal Ascot meeting when taking out the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies in May and made the most of the opportunity by posting a 9-1 upset in the G2 Queen Mary S.

As recently as this past weekend, the October Sale was represented by Time Passage (Tunwoo), an $85,000 purchase by trainer Eddie Plesa for his clients Karl and Cathi Glassman, who prevailed in the Miss Gracie S. at Gulfstream Park this past Saturday.

Nothing inspires confidence in a sale than success at the races, said Wojciechowski.

“Absolutely. When you have those sorts of results, it certainly entices a buyer to come in and maybe they can find one like that,” he said.

The October catalog features a diverse cross-section of stallions from Florida, Kentucky and New York, and should have something for everyone, Wojciechowski said.

“More and more we see a better mix of and we also have some of the sire power that has been in favor as of late,” he said. “We have some Mitoles, Complexitys sold well at the previous sales, so the quality of sire continues to grow for us here.

The October Sale comes on the heels of regional events over the past few weeks which posted mixed results year-over-year. At the Fasig-Tipton California sale, which also included a Horses of Racing Age Section, the average was fractionally higher, but the median took a significant dip while one of every three horses was bought back. The average was down slightly during last week's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sale, and there remained an uneasiness in the middle market while buybacks also trended a bit higher.

“From the sales standpoint, I think we're going to see what we've seen at the yearling sales this year,” Wojciechowski offered. “The perceived upper end will sell very well and it might get a little thin in some of the middle spots. But there's no reason we should expect something totally different.”

With sessions beginning at 10 a.m. ET, hips 1-338 and supplemental entries hips 339-359 are set to go under the hammer Tuesday, followed by hips 401-739 and supplements 740-755 on Wednesday. Some 37 yearlings were added to the sale after the catalogs were printed.

The Green family's D. J. Stable acquired last year's joint $210,000 toppers, a colt by Mitole and a Filly by The Factor, each bred in Florida.

The post OBS October Gets Under Way appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The post Half-Brother To Collected Another Uncle Mo Colt To Shine at KEESEP appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

The session featured bloodstock agents Erin Birkenhauer, Marette Farrell and Mike Ryan, plus auctioneer Tom Biederman discussing horse selection and the bidding process at Thoroughbred auctions. The panel was moderated by OwnerView's project manager, Gary Falter.

Topics included yearling sales, buying 2-year-olds, buying horses in training, the importance of vet records and conformation.

“For people getting into the business for the first time, a great approach is to buy some fillies because you have some exit strategy, you've got resale/residual value,” Ryan said.

There are four more Thoroughbred Owner Conference virtual panels scheduled for 2023, with the next session, 'Claiming', to be held Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. (ET).

There is no fees for the series, but registration is required. Click here for more information.

The post Thoroughbred Owner Conference Series ‘Buying at Public Auction’ Now Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Watch Hip 77 c. QUALITY ROAD o/o I'm a Looker sell for $1,100,000 at The Saratoga Sale!#FasigSaratoga @Gainesway @StonestreetFarm @amoracingltd @A_C_Elliott @mcelroyequine pic.twitter.com/xo3GvKnD06

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) August 8, 2023

The post Amo Racing Raises The Roof at Saratoga, Pays $1.1M For Quality Road Colt appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Watch c. AUTHENTIC o/o Golden Domer sell for $875,000 at The Saratoga Sale!#FasigSaratoga @DonatoLanni @TomRyanKY @StarlightRacing @MadaketStables @spendthriftfarm @FourStarSales pic.twitter.com/5qwTNZGrbw

— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) August 8, 2023

The post An ‘Authentic’ Purchase For SF/Starlight/Madaket appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Among the horses available are:

• Four Pennsylvania-bred yearlings by freshman sire Maximus Mischief, Jimmy Creed, Mor Spirit and Mucho Macho Man;
• The 4-year-old mare Slot Queen (Speightstown), a two-time winner out of a multiple stakes-placed half-sister to two full black-type winners in foal to Sharp Azteca;
• The stakes-placed 8-year-old mare Spirit of Shanghai (Shanghai Bobby) in foal to Aloha West;
• Quintile (Langfuhr), in foal to Core Beliefs and the dam of three horses of racing age have achieved six-figure pricetags up to $210,000;
• Maximus Aurelius (Tapit), whose champion dam Close Hatches (First Defence) is responsible for MGSW & MGISP sire Tacitus (Tapit) and undefeated 'TDN Rising Star' Scylla (Tapit) and is a full-sister to the dam of recent GIII Shawnee S. winner Idiomatic (Curlin). The 5-year-old sells as a racing/stallion prospect

Prospective buyers may browse the website to view pedigrees, pictures, and videos of each hip offered. In-person inspections may be scheduled by contacting sellers with the information provided in the catalogue.

The post Wanamaker’s June Catalogue Online appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

At the close of business Tuesday, 192 juveniles had sold for a gross of $7,110,400. The average of $37,033 was up from the 2022 session's final average of $34,431–which included post-sale transactions–but was down from the end-of-session figure of $38,628. The median of $20,000 dipped from the final figure of $22,000, as well as from the end-of-session figure of $25,500. With 74 horses reported not sold, the session's buy-back rate was 27.8%.

Before the inclusion of post-sale transactions, last year's opening session of the June sale saw 184 head sell for a gross of $7,107,500. The average was $38,628 and the median was $25,500. With 90 horses reported not sold at the fall of the day's last hammer, the 2022 opening-session buy-back rate was 33.1%. That figure improved to 20.7% as a further 33 horses sold post-sale, bringing the final gross to $7,756,400.

Midway through Tuesday's session, Frank Fletcher, bidding alongside agent Donato Lanni, went to $450,000 to acquire a son of Hard Spun from the de Meric Sales consignment. Late in the day, Fletcher returned to acquire the day's second-highest priced offering, going to $230,000 to acquire a colt by Malibu Moon from Gene Recio's consignment.

The session-topper led a day of mixed-bag results for de Meric Sales, which sold all 10 of its horses through the ring for $988,700 and was the session's leading consignor. The consignment had results everywhere from the session-topping $450,000 price tag down to $3,700.

“We saw a little bit of everything today,” admitted Tristan de Meric. “It's definitely a little spotty at best, but there is still some demand for the more quality horses. There is a bit of action in the lower-middle, but not as much as we'd all like to see for the number of horses here. I think it's basically typical of the June sale, but maybe a little more magnified this year.”

The Hard Spun colt was making his first sales appearance of the year, an angle which has worked well for the consignment in the past, according to de Meric.

“He was sent down to Florida and started in January and we always thought of him as a horse for this sale,” de Meric said. “We've found that a fresh horse in this sale can stand out. People always like to see one for the first time. And that horse stepped up and did everything right. We have done well with horses like him at this sale and, even this year in a spottier market, we are happy with this result and best of luck to Frank Fletcher and Donato.”

The OBS June sale continues through Thursday with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.

Fletcher Gets His Hard Spun Colt

Frank Fletcher flew down to Ocala Tuesday morning with the specific intention of purchasing a colt by Hard Spun and the Arkansas native did not go home disappointed, securing hip 130 for $450,000 from the de Meric Sales consignment midway through the first session of the June sale.

“I just flew down this morning and Donato Lanni showed him to me,” Fletcher said. “He liked his work, he likes the way he's built and he likes his speed.”

Bred by Reiley McDonald's Athens Woods, the chestnut colt is out of stakes-placed Mine All Mine (Belong to Me) and is a half-brother to stakes-winner Athens Queen (Majestic Warrior). The juvenile worked a furlong last week in a co-bullet :9 4/5.

SESSION TOPPER @OBSSales!

Hip 130, a #HardSpun colt that worked in a blistering :9 4/5ths, sells to Frank Fletcher Racing Operations for $450,000!

Consigned by de Meric Sales, Agent, the juvenile is out of a Stakes-placed mare who is also the dam of Astoria Stakes winner… pic.twitter.com/L8ujAtTTQX

— Darley in America (@DarleyAmerica) June 13, 2023

“We are always looking for 2-year-old colts,” Fletcher said. “And it's exciting to get him. I always like coming down here. I love this city and I love this sale. I've been coming here for 25 years.”

Fletcher famously names all his horses with some form of Rocket or Rockette in their names. Does he have a name already picked out for this colt?

“He will be something rocket,” Fletcher said with a laugh. “I had a horse down here earlier this year in the sale and she worked so well, I withdrew her from the sale and I named her Almost Gone Rocket.”

Fletcher had to see off a determined internet bidder to secure the colt, but said he never had a doubt that he was going to come out on top.

“We were going to get him one way or another,” he said. “I flew down for him. So I'd be very sad if I was going home without him.”

Fletcher said no trainer had been picked out for the youngster.

Goodman Has High Hopes for First Pinhook

Billy Goodman, whose involvement in racing started almost by accident and evolved into a full-on passion, is hopeful his first foray into the juvenile pinhooking market proves just as successful when he and partner Caio Caramori send a colt by American Pharoah (hip 1030) through the OBS sales ring with the SBM Training and Sales consignment Thursday.

Goodman purchased the colt for $100,000 at last year's Keeneland September sale. He is out of Jeweliana (Smart Strike), a daughter of multiple graded winner Roshani (Fantastic Light) and the dam of $775,000 juvenile Nile River (American Pharoah).

“He just had all the right parts,” Goodman said of the colt's appeal last fall. “He was a May 5 foal and a little immature, but I kind of looked at him like, if he just expands exactly as he is right now, he's going to be an absolute beast of a horse. He had an incredible walk and an incredible mind on him. And all of those things came to fruition with him. He blossomed into this incredible specimen and he's got a mind on him like a 4-year-old stakes horse.”

Goodman had never even touched a horse when he decided to make a major pivot in his life some 12 years ago.

“Back in 2011, I was managing an Irish pub in Miami for a childhood friend,” he explained. “Things just weren't going well and I didn't enjoy it, so I decided to stop. I got a license at Gulfstream and went on the backside and asked for a job. I got a job walking hots.”

Goodman, who began working for trainer Peter Gulyas in Florida, eventually made his way to Kentucky and the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher.

“I worked for Todd for six years as a groom,” Goodman said. “I was a hotwalker and then a groom and within two months we had two horses in the Derby and My Miss Sophia was second in the Oaks.”

Of his experience with horses before that, Goodman admitted, “None. Zero. Never touched a horse. I always knew that I would at some point. Horses were in my system. I was 45 and I said, 'All right, it's time to do this.'”

Goodman purchased his first horse, Eternal Heart, for $50,000 at the 2018 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic October Sale. Now six, the West Virginia-bred mare is still in his care.

“I was just bathing her when you called,” Goodman said of Eternal Heart. “This is going to be her last year racing. I bought this filly and gave her to my friend Caio Caramori, who is a trainer. I went to the barn to help out and I wound up working for him. And I'm still working for him and still buying horses.”

Goodman purchased a few weanling-to-yearling pinhooks and enjoyed success on a small scale before deciding to put together a partnership to make his six-figure investment in an American Pharoah colt last year.

“This is the first decent horse that we put a little money together and bid $100,000 on him,” Goodman said.

The colt was originally targeted at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale, where he was to sell under the Goodman Caramori banner, but the partners decided to call an audible earlier this year.

“We broke him and trained him at the Classic Mile right there in Ocala,” Goodman said. “We spend the winters down there. We were going to consign himself ourselves at Timonium, but he just got shins. I was battling shins because we got a late start on him. I could have brought him there, but I didn't think it was right for the horse. So we backed off on him a little bit and sent him to Susan Montanye. She's got him now because I had to go back to Lexington. We have 45 horses here.”

The colt proved the extra time was worthwhile with a :10 flat work at last week's under-tack show.

“Susan took care of his shins and didn't do too much with him and he went over there and went :10 flat, :20 3/5 and :33 2/5,” Goodman said. “He's just a beast of a horse. He really didn't train all that much and did that. It was kind of freakish what he did.”

Goodman expects to be back in action at the upcoming yearling sales.

“I am going to be buying in July, hopefully, and go to New York and September,” he said. “We will probably have 40 horses down there in Ocala, total, but we will probably put together four or five [to pinhook] with this group, if this horse sells the way we think he will. And I'll try to build a little business from there, buy our own and do it like that.”

The post Hard Spun Colt ‘Rockets’ To Top At Workmanlike OBS June Opener appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

“As both companies continue to grow, we have been diligently looking for someone with Josh's skill set to join both teams,” said Matt Bowling, co-owner of both Silver Springs and Vinery Sales. “I am confident he will be an asset to our clients.”

The post Josh Kerin To Begin New Role Within Vinery Sales And Silver Springs appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post