Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale

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...

A son of Corniche (hip 473) became the third juvenile to reach seven figures at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale when Susan Montanye signed the ticket at $1 million to acquire the colt on behalf of Lee Ackerley Tuesday. The juvenile will be trained by Steve Asmussen. "Steve Asmussen was here and he watched the breeze and picked this horse out for Mr. Ackerley," Montanye said. "He went back to the track today and called and asked if I would bid on the horse on behalf of them." The bay...

Bloodstock agent Pedro Lanz, who purchased a $2.1-million colt by Flightline on behalf of KAS Stable during Monday's opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, came back Tuesday to acquire a filly by Gun Runner (hip 357) for $1.375 million for the same operation. Both juveniles were consigned by Sequel on behalf of their breeder, Chester Broman. "We needed a filly and she was my favorite," Lanz explained. "I told them, if you want the best filly, in my opinion, she is the one. She's a...

TIMONIUM, MD - While many buyers and consignors are making adjustments around the new format of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale's under-tack preview, Karl Keegan of Lucan Bloodstock is making his first trip to Timonium specifically because of the preview's untimed works. "I am a big fan of the no-time format," Keegan said. "It really appealed to me. I personally think we are asking probably average horses to do crazy times that only a few special horses can do." Lucan Bloodstock will offer six 2-year-olds at the...

TIMONIUM, MD - The under-tack preview of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded its two-day stint at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Wednesday under increasing winds and threatening skies, but dodged the rain that was expected to hit the Timonium area later in the evening. Buyers and consignors alike continued to make adjustments to the preview's new format, which limits use of the whip and for which no workout times are provided by the sales company. "It's very strange," admitted consignor Ciaran Dunne of Wavertree Stables. "It's probably...

TIMONIUM, MD - The first of two sessions of the under-tack preview of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale got underway under brilliantly sunny skies and a brand new format Tuesday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. Some 250 horses previewed over the track, and, while they were cascaded by the beeps of stopwatches from onlookers in the grandstand, Fasig-Tipton provided no times for the works. With forecasted wet weather later in the week, the under-tack show was condensed to two days, leading to close to nine...

The two-day under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale--with no timed workouts from the sales company and new whip restrictions--begins Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The show had originally been scheduled over three days, but was condensed to sessions just Tuesday and Wednesday ahead of an expected rain storm in the area later in the week. Consignors at the auction have the option to breeze or gallop their horses at the under-tack show, but "Fasig-Tipton will not time the...

When torrential rain and severe weather forced the third and final under-tack session of last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale into a gallop-only, untimed preview, the adjustment was used as an experiment of sorts. How would buyers react to the change and ultimately, how would the horses that galloped at the sale go on to perform on the racetrack? While the sale defied the storm to produce all-time gross, average and median records, three of the top 10 lots and eight of the top 20 were horses...

LEXINGTON, KY - The four-day Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale reached its halfway point in Lexington Tuesday and continued to produce figures significantly ahead of its record-setting 2024 edition. Through two sessions, 540 yearlings have grossed $33,091,000 for an average of $61,280 and a median of $30,000. At the same point last year, 544 horses had grossed $28,753,000 for an average of $52,855 and a median of $20,000. The 2024 auction concluded with a cumulative record gross of $58,575,500 and a record average of $52,206. "The second session of the...

6th-DMR, $100K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 7:11 p.m. ET. A pair of pricey colts under the care of Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert make their first starts as the seaside oval closes out its summer meet on Sunday. BOYD (Violence) is a Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May auction buy for Zedan Racing, who made the chestnut the second topper at the sale when they went to $1.05-million to acquire him. Initially, this future Baffert trainee was an $82,000 Fasig-Tipton Fall Mixed sale grad then went for $280,000 during Keeneland September. A...

6th-SAR, $90K, Msw, (S), 2yo, 6f, 4:06 p.m. ET    Froutien (Galilean), a $700,000 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training graduate, debuts against fellow New York-breds. The Tagermeen Racing colorbearer posted six workouts at Todd Pletcher's Monmouth Park base ahead of this debut run. From the first crop of MSW California-bred Galilean, he hails from the extended female family of MGISW 'TDN Rising Star' Mindframe (Constitution). Froutien also changed hands for $95,000 at the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale and RNA'd for $160,000 at OBS March. TJCIS PPs

Veteran horseman Al Pike, who had been battling cancer, passed away Saturday at the age of 70, according to a release from the Texas Thoroughbred Association. Pike, along with his wife of nearly 45 years, Salley, and their son, Colt, operated Pike Racing. Pike is also survived by daughter Chelsey Pike Hooton. Pike got his start in the horse industry in the 1970s as a Quarter Horse trainer in Texas before he and his wife transitioned to Thoroughbreds, eventually focusing on pinhooking. Pike Racing sold the $1.1-million sale-topper at the...