Adena sale averages $23k

Frank Stronach's Adena Springs sold 40 horses for gross receipts of $945,500 and an average price of $23,638, at the farm's inaugural 2-year-olds in training sale on Thursday afternoon in Florida.

The juvenile sale, conducted by Ocala Breeders' Sales Company at Adena Springs South, was the first for Adena, and it made use of a novel experiment: publishing the reserves on 58 of the 68 horses on offer. Of the 58 with published reserves, 30 sold, or 52 percent. The 10 without reserves all sold.

Mark Roberts, the manager of Adena Springs South, said he was "very pleased" with the sale, and said Stronach had told him last night from Austria, where he has a home, that the sale would likely be renewed next year.

As for the buyback rate of 48 percent on the horses with reserves, Roberts said the rate "is not out of line with other 2-year-old sales this year."

"That's a sign of the times, rather than being indicative of this sale," he said. "

Roberts said Adena Springs had a foal crop of 135 in 2000. Approximately 25 of the foals were sold as yearlings; from the remainder, about 40 were set aside for Stronach Stables, and 70 were selected for the 2-year-old sale. The unsold horses will race for Stronach, Roberts said.

The sale topper was Awesome Action, a colt by 1998 Breeders' Cup Classic winner Awesome Again, who was purchased for $80,000 by Sue Leslie.