By Alan Carasso
Fasig-Tipton Company stages the first breeding stock sale of 2016, the Saratoga Fall Sale, beginning Monday morning at 10 a.m. at the Humphrey S. Finney Sales Pavilion in upstate New York. A total of 319 horses of all ages are catalogued for the single-session auction which will kick off with 106 racing and/or broodmare prospects followed by 34 yearlings and 179 weanlings.
Now in its fifth year at Saratoga, the Fall Sale began with a horses-in-training component and saw a total of five six-figure transactions over the first three years. The sale has gradually come to be dominated by younger offerings, and last year's event saw four horses fetch final prices in excess of $100,000, including a New York-bred son of then first-crop sire Shanghai Bobby (hip 191), who sold to Hunter Valley Farm for $140,000.
Boyd Browning, Jr., president and chief executive officer of Fasig-Tipton, is optimistic heading into this year's Fall Sale.
“There's been a lot of interest,” he commented. “Certainly with the vast majority of the foals and yearlings and most all of the mares being resident New York mares, that's certainly a great calling card. The New York-bred program just attracts such wide-spread interest, whether on the racetrack or in the sales ring. I think we'll see tremendous activity on what are perceived to be the higher-quality foals and the better mares in foal.
He added, “I think we'll see a continuation of the market trends. It won't be easy for every horse, but I think we'll have a good, solid marketplace. This sale has established its place on the calendar, it's a sale people look forward to every year and we're excited to get the mixed sales season started.”
Browning believes the sale has secured its place on the sales calendar.
“As the New York-bred program has gotten so strong and given that there are such good incentives for both owners and breeders, the quality of horses has improved dramatically in New York in the last four or five years,” he offered. “It's just a logical place on the sales calendar. It's worked well and we're hoping to see growth and improvement in quality and quantity.
There's a lot of interest and anticipation to buy a quality New York-bred. You'll see a vibrant marketplace. There's good sire power and some interesting New York stallions as well.”
For the entire catalogue, visit www.fasigtipton.com.
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