Alberta sale numbers drop

With the proposed new racetrack project in Balzac stalled and the future of racing in southern Alberta in jeopardy, it isn't surprising the numbers were down significantly at the Canadian Thoroughbred Society summer yearling sale in Red Deer, Alberta, on Tuesday.

Eighty-two yearlings were sold for a gross of $667,300, a 45 percent drop from last year's total of $1,221,750 from 130 horses sold. The median price this year was $2,700, compared with $5,000 in 2008.

The average price dropped roughly 13 percent to $8,137. Contributing to the decline in the average was that this was the first time the sale did not include horses bred outside of Alberta.

The sales topper went to Valiant Ranches Ltd., who paid $30,000 for a filly by Purge out of Carr de Monn.