Joe Pickerrell

It's what keeps everyone going: the chance that somewhere out there may be a single horse capable of transforming your whole career. For most, of course, the quest yields no more than near-misses: horses that don't quite work out, for one reason or another, but that hopefully show enough to get you noticed, keep you in the game. Every now and then, however, somebody turns up a real game-changer. Every now and then, along comes Mage. Before turning up the 2023 GI Kentucky Derby winner, Ramiro Restrepo's eligibility to describe...

A quartet of juveniles shared the fastest time during the fifth session of the under-tack show held Thursday ahead of next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Freshman stallion Yaupon, whose first runners hit the track this year, had another standout breeze session held under "ideal" conditions when a filly (hip 788) from his first crop worked in :9 4/5 for Joe Pickerrell's Pick View LLC. "She's been lightning fast all year," said Pickerrell of the filly he picked up for just $100,000 at last...

Some people only look for difficulties. Others seek solutions. Between those categories, it's not hard to place Joe Pickerrell and his wife Courtney. Having attended a couple of family weddings in South Africa, and been blown away by the venue each time, they struggled to find anywhere remotely comparable when planning their own nuptials back in Florida. Well, they thought, that was not just frustrating. Might it also be a business opportunity? So they found this amazing 1850 barn in Canada, dismantled it, and had it shipped and reassembled, beam...

TIMONIUM, MD - The under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded with a third session Friday at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium and after an initial session of headwinds and a second session punctuated by tailwinds, conditions were calm with overcast skies during the show's finale. A filly by Bolt d'Oro (hip 401) had the fastest furlong work of Friday's session, covering the distance in :10 flat during the day's third set. Consigned by Wavertree Stables, the bay filly is out of Werewolf (Arch)...

TIMONIUM, MD - The opening session of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale got off to a tepid start at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Monday morning, but momentum built throughout a session which ultimately produced figures ahead of the auction's record-setting 2022 renewal. "It was a strong start to the sale," Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. said at the close of business Monday. "There was significant increase in average price compared to the first day and the overall sale last year. It was certainly an acceptable...

TIMONIUM, MD - After a stakes-filled weekend of racing at nearby Pimlico Race Course, the action moves back to Timonium for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which begins its two-day run at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Monday morning at 11 a.m. "I'm always happy to be back in Maryland and to be back in Timonium," consignor Cary Frommer said as shoppers looked for horses and shady spots on a steamy Sunday morning at the fairgrounds. Of the action at the barns, Frommer said, "It's actually been quite steady...

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, launched last week with a Bluegrass band, mimosas, and a boutique Book 1 section, continued its momentum straight through to the end of its 11th session, concluding with a sales record average, median and buy-back rate. The gross, which was over $300,000,000 for three straight years before falling to $248,978,700 during the pre-vaccination pandemic in 2020, rebounded to $352,823,000 by the time the last hip went through the ring Friday evening. It was the auction's sixth highest gross in history. "The hope was that we...

by Brian DiDonato & Steve Sherack Under the cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp stock market reaction, the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale kicked off Tuesday with mixed results for sellers--as expected--but probably with better trade than some may have feared. At the end of selling Tuesday, 134 head had changed hands for a combined $12,550,500 at an average of $93,660 and median of $50,000. Those stats are expected to change as buyers continue to shop the RNA list and subsequent post-sale transactions are...