Kerry Cauthen

After a decade at Four Star Sales as their director of bloodstock, Ashley Franz will join Warrendale Sales as a bloodstock sales associate, the group announced via press release. "Ashley started with Four Star when she was just out of college and has truly become a very accomplished horsewoman," said Four Star's Kerry Cauthen. "She will be sorely missed, both professionally and as a great friend to us all, but we couldn't be prouder of her accomplishments with us and those that are still to come in her future." Franz...

LEXINGTON, KY - Domestic and international shoppers galore were steadily making their way through the sales barns on a blissful Sunday morning in the Bluegrass--the quiet before the storm--a day before bidding opens for the 12-day Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington. Following a competitive 2-year-old sales season this spring, the yearling auctions opened with strong demand across town in July and continued in upstate New York last month, leaving consignors optimistic of a strong market a day before the industry's bellwether yearling auction begins. "I think everybody on the...

George Connolly is set to join Four Star Sales as a Bloodstock Sales Associate, the company announced Wednesday. From County Carlow, Ireland, Connolly grew up on his family's Burgage Stud, a successful National Hunt stallion farm that has produced multiple Grade 1 winners. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from University College Dublin and was selected for the Godolphin Flying Start program - graduating with distinction in June 2025 as the leading student of his class. Connolly's early career has spanned top trainers, sales companies and stud farms around...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - The record-smashing Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale steam rolled to its conclusion Tuesday night, setting highwater marks for every metric and culminating with a head-turning gross of $100,715,000. At the close of business, 160 yearlings had sold for an average of $629,469 and median of $450,000--numbers which dwarfed records set just last year when 154 yearlings grossed $82,160,000 for an average of $533,506 and a median of $425,000. It was the third straight year of across-the-board statistical records at the Saratoga sale....

SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - Just five days removed from a record-smashing select sale, bidding returns to the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Sunday evening for the first of two sessions of the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearlings Sale in Saratoga Springs. The session, originally slated to start at 7 p.m., will now begin at 7:30 p.m. in deference to a pair of rescheduled graded races which will extend the race day at the track across the avenue. After a day and a half of rain in Saratoga, the sun was shining as...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Fasig-Tipton July Sale of Selected Yearlings will open the yearling sales season Tuesday in Lexington, with bidding slated to begin at Newtown Paddocks at 10 a.m. The 370 catalogued offerings kick off with a selection of 109 yearlings by first-crop sires. Activity at the sales barns was brisk throughout the weekend and continued to be strong on a cloudless, sunny morning in Lexington Monday. "We are into day three of showing," said Kerry Cauthen outside of his Four Star Sales consignment barn. "The first two days...

What was a solid final Book 3 session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale suddenly jumped into high gear in its final 45 minutes, producing its four highest prices in the span of some 80 hips, led by a session-topping son of Audible who sold for $725,000 to Flurry Racing Stables just six lots from the end of the all-day session. Now midway through the 12-day auction, figures continue to be well ahead of 2021 levels. During the weekend's two Book 3 sessions, 586 yearlings sold for $92,258,500. The Book...

The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale concluded its four-day run in Lexington Friday with steady figures which continued to show strength in the marketplace into the new year. "We are very, very pleased with the sale," said Keeneland's vice president of sales Tony Lacy. "Continued competitive trade, high clearance rate and high median price have solidified some confidence in people who were nervous before the beginning of the sales season. They feel positive about moving forward into the rest of 2022 and are investing as such. The market...

Internationally respected bloodstock adviser and consignor Tony Lacy will join Keeneland as the company's vice president of sales. Keeneland has simultaneously announced that Geoffrey Russell, who has served the auction house for 25 years--the last 20 as director of sales/sales operations--is retiring from the company, but will remain as a consultant through 2021. "Tony possesses a well-rounded knowledge of the Thoroughbred industry, bolstered by valuable insight and a unique skill set gained from having worked on the ground in the U.S., Europe and the Middle East," Keeneland President and CEO...

LEXINGTON, KY - While the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc with sales across the globe from March through August, the calendar will return to some semblance of normalcy when the Keeneland September Yearling Sale kicks off right on schedule in Lexington Sunday at noon. "So many sales companies in the Northern Hemisphere have had to rearrange some things, but we have been very fortunate that the September sale is taking place in September at Keeneland," said Keeneland's Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell. "We are resilient and I think we've had...

David Lanigan has recently joined Four Star Sales as bloodstock advisor, emphasizing on the private purchase of horses in-training and racing management. Lanigan closed his Newmarket training operation this spring to prepare for his family's planned return to Lexington. Training under Sir Henry Cecil for five years before going out on his own 13 years ago, he retired from training with over 200 winners including top stakes horses, Main Sequence, Meeznah, Interception and Worth Waiting. Prior to working for Cecil, he worked with Four Star Sales' Kerry Cauthen at John...

While many questions regarding the Coronavirus pandemic remain unanswered, and with a stock market experiencing extreme volatility, there is continued uncertainty as to what could happen in our industry over the next few years. But many people in the industry have been through such ambiguity before. We sought the advice of industry leaders who successfully made their way through the Great Recession, and we asked what they learned from it and how they will use their experiences to advance through the coming years. KERRY CAUTHEN, Four Star Sales  Looking back...