By Jessica Martini
TIMONIUM, Md – The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which produced its first-ever million-dollar sale a year ago, begins its two-day run in Timonium Monday. In addition to its inaugural seven-figure transaction, the 2015 Midlantic sale also produced record average and median figures and Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Sales Director Paget Bennett looks to continue the positive returns in 2016.
“I hope we can build on what we did last year and I think we can,” Bennett said. “Consignors got confidence last year seeing that you could sell one for a million, so they said, 'Hey, let's go to Maryland.' We've got the dirt track and people like buying off this track. We have the regional buyers, so there is something for everyone. And we get people who can't get to Ocala because they have to train their horses. It's an easy venue to come to.”
Activity at the sales barns was brisk on a chilly and rainy Sunday morning, with Ocala-based consignor Eddie Woods quipping, “We come here for the weather,” before adding, “It's a good place to bring a nice horse because there are plenty of people here looking for nice horses.”
Among those shopping between the raindrops was Elliott Walden, who received congratulations on future WinStar stallion Exaggerator (Curlin)'s win in Saturday's GI Preakness S., as well as bloodstock agents Alex Solis and Jason Litt, Jake Ballis, Donato Lanni, Steve Young, Ian Brennan, Marette Farrell, Gary Young and David Ingordo and Gainesway's Michael Hernon and Brian Graves. Bob Baffert was on the grounds, as were fellow trainers Linda Rice, Steve Asmussen, Brett Calhoun, Mike Trombetta, Ferris Allen, Mark Casse, Butch Reid, John Servis, Carla Gaines and Michael Dickinson.
Last year's Midlantic sale, topped by a $1.25-million daughter of Smart Strike, saw 255 juveniles sell for $22,659,000 for an average of $88,859 and a median of $45,000.
Consignor Nick DeMeric said results like last year's record-setting Midlantic sale have helped eliminate the stigma previously attached to later juvenile sales.
“There is no doubt the dynamic of these later sales has changed radically and our thinking has changed correspondingly,” DeMeric said. “We've had Kentucky Derby winners come out of this sale and people know that. And I think people like myself are more willing to keep back a later developer for OBS April or for this Timonium sale where the mind set used to be it was a last resort. Now we bring some top-notch horses here that haven't been anywhere else and we're happy to do so.”
The Midlantic sale will be held Monday and Tuesday with sessions beginning each day at 10 a.m.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
