F-T mixed sale proceeds sink

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Topped by the $50,000 broodmare Lovely Ghost, Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's fall mixed sale on Monday offered fewer horses and had financial declines across the board.

The one-day auction sold 121 lots, down substantially from the 197 it sold last year, and gross revenue this year fell 55 percent, to $531,400. The average price dropped 27 percent, from $6,002 last year to $4,392 in 2001. The median fell 14 percent, from $3,500 to $3,000 this year.

But buy-backs declined from last year, suggesting that more sellers felt they were getting acceptable prices for their stock. Last year, the auction produced a buy-back rate of 34 percent, a figure that improved to 29 percent in this year's market.