On the surface, Fasig-Tipton isn’t doing anything new with its inaugural Turf Showcase yearling sale. Select yearling sales are as popular in the marketplace as ever, and auctions grouping horses with similar backgrounds can be found anywhere a state breed organization hosts its annual sale. Where the Turf Showcase breaks new ground is the slant it takes on its catalog selection and the scope to which it presents itself. The Turf Showcase markets itself as a sale for horses with “turf appeal,” offering a select 171-horse catalog with pedigrees and conformations that appear to suit a turf racing program. Turf is the primary surface in nearly every major racing jurisdiction in Europe and Australia, as well as in Japan and Hong Kong, giving the catalog a decidedly international flavor. While the sale has immediate appeal to global buyers, Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning said the Turf Showcase also gets out in front of a trend brewing domestically. “Forty percent of the graded stakes in North America are run on turf,” he said. “You look around and you see full fields for turf racing. You see North American racing jurisdictions continuing to increase the percentage and level of turf racing, coupled with the fact that you’re seeing more U.S.-bred horses succeeding on an international basis.” The Turf Showcase takes place Sunday, Sept. 10, at Fasig-Tipton’s Newtown Paddocks base in Lexington, Ky., beginning at 4 p.m. Eastern. Browning said the concept for the Turf Showcase took shape in the early spring, and the auction was announced to the public in March. Horses were pointed toward the Turf Showcase by the Fasig-Tipton staff during the same round of select-level inspections that placed yearlings for the July sale and the two auctions in Saratoga. The bottom of each offering’s catalog page includes a “Turf Fact” in green type illustrating an aspect of the horse’s pedigree that ties them to the surface. “Hopefully, we can increase the appeal of some of these American-bred horses to our friends in Europe and Japan and other parts of the world,” Browining said. “We just thought it was the right time to try this concept.” Meg Levy of consignor Bluewater Sales said international interest in North American bloodlines for turf programs can be gauged by the names on the buyer line at the top of major breeding stock sales. The long-term investment of a breeding program can be an endorsement in a jurisdiction’s pedigrees and methods. “The world has gotten a lot smaller,” she said. “A lot of the most expensive, nicest broodmare prospects we’ve sold in America over the last decade now live in Japan and are now producing nice horses over there. “For a while, there was some negativity from Europe toward U.S.-breds. I think over time, some of that negativity has gone away.” :: More coverage of the Fasig-Tipton Turf Showcase: Hips to watch | Video preview :: Fasig-Tipton is in familiar territory introducing a new sale to the calendar. In 2013, the auction house debuted its summer horses of racing age sale as a companion to the company’s July yearling sale, and it has developed into a go-to event for that segment of the marketplace. With that experience to draw upon, Browning said a successful inaugural Turf Showcase sale was not entirely about the number at the bottom of the ledger, but building a positive atmosphere on which to grow. “We don’t have any pre-established numeric goals,” he said. “I think it’s to have a healthy marketplace, to get a reasonably high percentage of the horses sold, to have some vibrancy in the marketplace, and to see broad participation. We’ll evaluate it based on those factors.” While the upper end of the North American racing scene has become greener, marketing a domestic turf horse remains for many a proposition with a ceiling. The goal for most prominent North American buyers remains unearthing a U.S. classic winner, which means finding a horse built and bred for the dirt. However, Browning was quick to note that “turf appeal” does not necessarily equate to “turf exclusive.” Levy echoed that sentiment, noting that several of the 14 horses she has cataloged are by sires with successful progeny on both turf and dirt, including More Than Ready, Scat Daddy, and Candy Ride. The Turf Showcase is just another arena to get quality horses in the spotlight. “As D. Wayne Lukas used to say, ‘They can all run on the grass. They’re raised on it,’ ” Levy said. “I’m looking at it more as a select physical venue. “Select physicals equal select athletes in a lot of people’s minds. The more of those we can get in front of people when they’re in town, hopefully it’ll translate into more commerce.” :: DRF Breeding Live: Streaming video and analysis ::