F-T ends with dip in average

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's October yearling sale concluded Tuesday evening with solid returns from a nearly doubled catalog, posting dramatic increase in gross and moderate declines in average and median prices.

The two-day auction at Fasig-Tipton's Newtown Paddocks in Lexington sold 519 yearlings for total returns of $6,381,400, up 54 percent over last year's auction, which sold 323 for $4,144,800. The average price decreased by 4 percent to $12,296, compared with last year's $12,832; the median dropped 8 percent, from $6,500 last year to $6,000 in 2002.

The auction's buy-back rate - the percentage of horses that failed to reach the reserves set by their sellers - rose slightly, from last year's 23 percent to 24 percent this year.