Tom McCrocklin

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL - The under-tack show for the Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale of Selected 2-Year-Olds in Training was held under picture-perfect blue skies and temperatures in the 70s Monday in South Florida. "I thought the under-tack show went exceptionally well," Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said at the conclusion of Monday's fourth and final set of works. "The conditions were very consistent for all the horses, from start to finish. There were some very impressive works, both visually and time-wise. It looked like the horses were moving very well over the...

TIMONIUM, MD - The second of three under-tack sessions ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale got underway minutes after 8 a.m. with chilly temperatures in the mid-40s and a tailwind which remained fairly steady throughout the day's seven sessions at the Maryland State Fairgrounds Wednesday. Five of the day's six fastest times came during the session's first 20 minutes, with a filly by Union Rags equaling Tuesday's quarter-mile bullet time of :21 2/5 and four horses sharing the co-bullet furlong time of :10 flat. It wasn't until the day's...

By Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis OCALA, FL - A pair of million-dollar juveniles punctuated a day of lively trade in Central Florida as the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds reached its midway point with a second session Wednesday. "We certainly picked up where we left off yesterday and the action was just as good, if not better, and we hope it continues to move forward into the next two days," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "We came into the sale with some expectations given...

HALLANDALE BEACH, FL - After a year's absence, 2-year-olds were once again breezing at Gulfstream Park Monday ahead of Wednesday's Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream Sale. The auction's under-tack show began at 9 a.m. with sunny South Florida skies and temperatures in the upper 70s. It continued past 3 p.m. as the thermometer reached the mid-80's, and the winds picked up throughout the day, with a noticeable headwind in the later grouping of five sets. The bullet times for both the furlong and quarter-mile works were both recorded during the day's first set,...

Little Red Feather Racing has hired an independent compliance consultant to oversee all aspects of its racing and sales divisions. The consultant will ensure that LRF's trainers, veterinarians, and staffs comply within regulatory rules as well as LRF's internal policies regarding training and medication. "Many industries have compliance managers, why not horse ownership?" said LRF Managing Partner Gary Fenton. "We want our partners to have the utmost confidence and trust that our equine athletes receive world class care." LRF Founder and Managing Partner Billy Koch added, "It's time we take...

A colt by Speightster (hip 1312), purchased by Larry Best for $1.1 million at the OBS Spring Sale, has been returned to previous owner Solana Beach Sales and has joined the Southern California barn of trainer Bob Baffert. "Larry Best purchased the colt and after the sale he sent him to Taylor Made," explained consignor Tom McCrocklin. "I discussed post-sale management of the colt with Frank Taylor because he was not familiar with the horse and I was. And I think they chose to pull his back shoes and put...

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training, an auction most people seemed happy could even be held following all of the uncertainties of the global pandemic, concluded its four-day run in Central Florida with a pair of seven-figure transactions book-ending the session. Early in the day, Kaleem Shah purchased a son of Quality Road for $1.25 million from the Wavertree Stables consignment and, with only a handful of lots left to offer, Larry Best secured a colt by Speighster for...

A New York-bred colt from the first crop of Speightster lit up the board late Friday at OBS as he garnered a $1.1-million final bid from Christina Jelm, who was acting on behalf of Larry Best's OXO Equine LLC. Consigned by Tom McCrocklin as hip 1312, the :20 4/5 breezer turned in a strong gallop out that caught plenty of eyes. A supplemental entry to the OBS Spring sale, the son of MSP Auspicious (Indian Charlie)--already named Fortunate Son--was a $110,000 Saratoga York-bred yearling purchase by McCrocklin.

The juvenile sales season, which has suffered cancellations, delays and reshuffling due to the coronavirus pandemic, will look to get back on track with the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training which begins its four-day run in Central Florida Tuesday morning. "I would say we are cautiously optimistic about the sale in light of what we've all had to deal with in the last few months," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "I think the most important thing is that people are happy just to...

The Turf has no other odyssey quite like the one that ends at Churchill Downs. Where the Epsom original becomes ever less diverse, thanks to an inundation of two-bit speed in the European gene pool, the Kentucky Derby remains a faithful index of the grandeur and variegation of America's cultural self-image. From coast to coast, the thousands of potential winners who grazed their first spring pasture three years ago are now being winnowed down, trial by trial, to the 20 who finally share that momentous walk from the backside on...