“Be Prepared.” Those are the watchwords of Bob Boni, a leading consignor to the Harrisburg Mixed auction slated for November 8-9 (Yearling sale commences on November 4). Boni, who has witnessed these sales for decades, will represent some fantastic fillies and mares with great bloodlines and impeccable racetrack performance. Those horses will attract the bulk of the attention from the major players in the breeding business and that will happen without much advertising. But Boni believes that opportunity has been lost and will again be lost simply by the failure of interested parties to get involved in some way. [DRF HARNESS: Sign Up for the FREE DRF Harness Newsletter Today!] “A lot of people look at the pedigrees and naturally assume that a horse will sell out of their price range. If you are in the market, you owe it to yourself to look at as many horses as you possibly can. If you can’t look at the horses, have someone else look for you,” said Boni. What Boni advocates is based on years of experience and the very fact that once a horse goes into the ring, it is likely too late for a party that hasn’t looked at the horse to make a bid. Very often these horses go far under what was expected because too many people failed to look. It’s not always as simple as a horse not being worth the price. “I think there is a canyon that separates the high from the low in the broodmare auction,” said Boni. “I believe the canyon gets wider each year, not because the lower end of the market doesn’t have value, but primarily because not enough people spend the time to look at the horses.” The breeding industry has taken it on the chin in recent years. Certainly last year was a disappointment as the future of racing in Ontario held a cloud over the auction as well as the future. A five-year plan is now in place in Ontario but questions still remain whether that plan will have a positive impact on investment in breeding stock. If there is one area of North America that should be focused and prepared for this sale it is the small breeders in both Ohio and Indiana. “I was disappointed last year that more people from those markets didn’t step forward and take advantage,” said Boni. “There were mares that were in foal to quality sires and should have gone for $20,000 that sold for $5,000.” Horsemen with farms in those locations have a huge advantage to add to a broodmare band or upgrade in order to compete in the sales and racehorse market in years to come. “Some of these mares can produce a decent quality foal that would sell very well in smaller markets,” said Boni, offering encouragement to those a little shy about moving forward. Going into last Saturday’s Lady Maud eliminations, Breeders Crown champion Somwherovrarainbow was not only expected to win and advance to the final, she was also expected to race well and increase her value before she goes up for auction on November 9. The daughter of Horses of the Year Somebeachsomewhere and Rainbow Blue, a Breeders Crown winner at two, appeared destined to be a sale-topper at Harrisburg. An explanation for her dismal race performance (sixth, beaten 23 lengths) may be necessary for her to hit the heights in Harrisburg. However, Boni offers some serious star power at Harrisburg, selling Rainbow Blue herself. “She’s carrying a full brother or sister to Somwherovrarainbow,” said Boni. Also on the block will be the two-year-old filly champion of 2009, Fancy Filly. She’s a sub-1:50 pacer by Western Hanover that is currently in foal to Somebeachsomewhere, with the resulting colt or filly to be her second live foal. Boni has two outstanding mares that still have plenty of tread on the tires and can be raced in the future before a buyer decides on a broodmare career. Ginger And Fred will go on the block as the richest active pacing mare to be sold at auction. The seven-year-old mare is closing in on $2 million in career earnings and has been over six figures in each of the six years she’s set foot on the racetrack. She recently won on October 18 in 1:53 in a high-level conditioned class at Yonkers. On the trotting side, Beatgoeson Hanover is a mare that could sell upwards of $250,000. The five-year-old daughter of Andover Hall is from the world champion mare Beat The Wheel and hails from the same immediate family that produced Luckycharm Hanover. Beatgoeson Hanover captured a Preferred event at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs over the weekend in 1:54 and has seasonal earnings near $200,000. If there’s a sleeper in Boni’s list of quality fillies and mares it is Fit To Frame. A late-closer winner in 1:53 1/5 earlier this year at Tioga Downs, the daughter of Art Major is half-sister to Must See the dam of the successful first crop sire Well Said. Fit To Frame is also a half-sister to Subtle Charm, the dam of the likely favorite for Saturday’s Lady Maud Scandalous Hanover. “With her pedigree she can sell a six-figure yearling,” said Boni about the obvious future broodmare value of Fit To Frame. There are some horses listed in the Harrisburg mixed auction that may surprise a few people. The most notable horse entered in this year’s auction and very likely not to show is Uffizi Hanover. That’s right, the Breeders Crown champion was actually named to this sale in September, obviously well before her string of successes in Lexington first and then at Pocono. “I often tell owners who aren’t sure whether they want to give a colt or filly more time to show something, to enter the horse at Harrisburg. It’s an option. If the horse improves you can always protect them,” said Boni. [DRF HARNESS: Get Free Harness PPs when you wager with DRF Bets] Uffizi Hanover, a filly that hadn’t won a race until the last week in September, is a keeper for owners Marvin Katz, Al Libfeld and Sam Goldband, who have to be relieved the Well Said-sired lass let them know how good she was before it was too late.