Brian Sanfratello

The trendlines have been all too visible and all too visceral-nationwide declining foal crops and numbers of mares bred. Mainstays of the Thoroughbred breeding industry in the state that has produced the likes of Smarty Jones, Hard Spun and Unique Bella, however, are beginning to see tentative signs for optimism. "Our number of mares bred has remained relatively the same the past four years," said Brian Sanfratello, executive secretary of the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association (PHBA). Indeed, the number of mares bred to Pennsylvania stallions has narrowly fluctuated between a...

The Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association (PHBA) will host the Commonwealth's first-ever Pennsylvania Yearling Show. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place Saturday, June 21, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at the Brandywine Polo Club in New Garden, PA (232 Polo Road, Toughkenamon, PA 19374). Pennsylvania-Bred horses will be vying for more than $5,000 in awards and prizes. Horses will be placed in one of four classes depending on whether they are colts, geldings or fillies, as well as whether they were sired by...

The catalog for the 2025 Inglis Digital USA February Sale will feature a selection of Pennsylvania-bred offerings, presented by the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association. The auction will take place Wednesday, Feb. 12, beginning at 2 p.m. Eastern. The slate of Pennsylvania-bred offerings continues a years-long working relationship between the PHBA and Inglis Digital USA staff to sell horses from the Keystone State online, reaching back to the auction company's previous iteration with Liza Hendriks and her team. "We've been using Inglis Digital USA for the past few years with success,"...

The Pennsylvania Thoroughbred Horse Breeders Association's (PHBA)annual Stallion Season Auction will commence Monday, Jan. 13 and continue through Sunday, Jan. 19. Details can be found at www.Thoroughlybred.com. "We are proud that our annual auction attracts so many stud farms every year," said Brian Sanfratello, Executive Secretary of the PHBA. "The diversity of stallions gives breeders the opportunity to obtain stallion seasons both in Pennsylvania and other regional states, as well as some of the top young sires." Proceeds of the sale benefit the PHBA, the retirement programs Turning for Home...

Canadian champion Tyson (by Tapit), purchased for $175,000 by Darryl and Jill Myers when topping the final session of last week's Keeneland November sale, will stand his first season at the couple's Stone Jug Ranch which is a new Thoroughbred operation in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, the breeders said in a release on Sunday. "We've talked about [standing stallions] in the past," said the Myers's bloodstock advisor Ed Price. "But things got serious a week or two ago when we saw this horse." Bred and raced by Hill 'n' Dale Equine and...

Wanamaker's is currently accepting entries for the the third annual Pennsylvania Horse Breeders' Association (PHBA) Pennsylvania-Bred Sale which will be held in January. "Continuing the Wanamaker's digital sale has been very helpful to our breeders who would like to offer their horses without all of the costs involved in a public sale," said Brian Sanfratello, Executive Secretary of the PHBA. "Wanamaker's is easy to work with and does a great job of advertising to prospective buyers." "We are delighted to announce our continued partnership with PHBA," said Wanamaker's CEO Liza...

A 2-year-old filly who ran fourth as a first-time-starter in a $100,000 stakes for registered Pennsylvania-bred and -sired offspring in August has had her state-bred status stripped after the Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association (PHBA) determined she was actually bred in New Jersey. Brian Sanfratello, the executive secretary of the PHBA, disclosed the "status removal" for Miss Ellary (Social Inclusion), during the Sept. 26 meeting of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission. Miss Ellary earned $5,520 for her fourth-place debut Aug. 21. But Sanfratello said the PHBA subsequently received and investigated a...

Wanamaker's, the online Thoroughbred auction site, will host the first-ever Pennsylvania Horse Breeders Association online auction Oct. 28. The sale will be open to Pennsylvania-bred weanlings, yearlings, and racehorses as well as broodmares and broodmare prospects owned by PHBA members. "We are excited to partner with PHBA for their first online auction of PA-breds and utilize the platform in a way that can make state-bred horses more accessible," said Wanamaker's co-founder Liza Hendriks. "We will maintain our normal monthly sales while adding in feature sales." PHBA Executive Secretary Brian Sanfratello...