Romans Returns to Saratoga Sales Ring

ROMANS RETURNS TO SARATOGA SALES RING
    In recent years, trainer Dale Romans has expanded his prevalence in the Thoroughbred industry. Not only is Romans a top conditioner, with nearly $3 million in earnings so far this year, but in the last few years he has been consigning yearlings at various sales. The life-long horseman offered his first consignment at the 2011 Fasig-Tipton November Sale, and has since brough horses to a number of sales throught the seasons, including the 2012 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. He will return to the Spa sales ring this year with four horses. The trainer, who consigns under the name Romans Racing and Sales, agent, will sell hip 1, a colt by Hat Trick (Jpn); hip 50, a filly by Kitten’s Joy; hip 73, a colt by Uncle Mo; andhip 122, a filly by Street Sense. 
    Romans, who was successful in his first crack at consigning at this sale two years ago, has continued to bring consignments to yearling auctions. He attributes his operation’s success to the quality of its stock. 
    “We did okay,” Romans said of his first Saratoga consignment in 2012. “If you have the right horses and like to come–it’s expensive to come up here and try to sell the horses–if you don’t have the right horse, there’s no reason to come. This little group we’ve got are good horses and I think they’ll sell well.” 
    Romans explained that the Saratoga sale attracts educated buyers who are in tune with the industry, which can be very profitable if a consignor brings the right horse to the sale. 
    “I think if you have the right horse, it’s nice to come to a smaller sale,” he explained. “Nothing will get overlooked at this sale. I think we have some good horses.” 
    Although the strong market so far this year is a positive sign for sellers, Romans acknowledges that, especially with a smaller consignment, the value will really depend more on the quality of the horses in his team than the buyers. 
    “I think the market is hard to evaluate because you don’t understand the quality of these horses that are going through and selling,” Romans explained. “When I was a buyer, I thought horses where selling at a very high level. I think that it’s always easier to sell a good horse.” 
    The horseman partially attributes the environment to the success of the sale. 
“I think all sales’ week there’s a little more buzz around town. To me, the sales’ week and Travers week seem to have more people in town and it’s a little bit of a reunion of everybody from around the country with all the buyers and consigners and racing people merging in this little town for a week. It’s a lot of fun. In the sale, you know there’s always going to have the highest quality individuals to look at. Being at a sale is nice with the cocktail party at a Thoroughbred sale. It’s unique to anything else we do and it’s really a first-class event that shows off the industry well.”