Sales officials and consignors holding their breath to see how the buying bench might respond to a new-look under-tack preview show at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale, with no officially-timed works, can now exhale. With a trio of seven-figure juveniles topping the sale, the auction finished with records for average and median. Fasig-Tipton reported 384 juveniles sold over the two-day sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium for gross receipts of $52,875,500. At last year's Midlantic sale, which had a similar catalog but which was held as a marathon single session due to the re-organizing of part of that sale's under-tack show, 327 horses sold for $44,317,500. Both sets of figures account for private sales as of 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, with transactions possibly still taking place for this renewal. This week's average price of $137,697 ticked up 2 percent from the record $135,528 established last year. The median was $70,000, also establishing a record by 17 percent over the $60,000 set last year. The overall buyback rate was 16 percent, compared to 24 percent last year. Figures under 20 percent are considered noteworthy in a very selective marketplace. “We’re absolutely thrilled with the results,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said in post-sale comments to the media. “We hit the superfecta. The gross is up, the average is up, the median is up, and the RNA rate’s down. ... More important to us is honestly the strength of the market, the acceptance of the change in format, and a change in the way of doing business. We made a conscious decision this year to do what we thought was the right thing for the horse and for our customers. We have had tremendous support from a lot of consignors and buyers over the last two weeks and we’re extremely grateful.” :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  A New York-bred colt from the first crop of Horse of the Year Flightline, and out of Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Bar of Gold, was the sale's overall top price, selling for $2.1 million to Pedro Lanz, as agent for King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz and sons’ KAS Racing on Monday. The same buyer went back to the same consignment on Tuesday, purchasing a Gun Runner filly for $1.375 million to top the session. Like the Flightline colt, the Gun Runner filly was bred in New York by Chester Broman and his late wife, Mary Broman, and was consigned to the sale by Sequel, as agent. “We needed a filly,” Lanz told Fasig-Tipton. “There was one [Gun Runner filly] yesterday, but [this one] was my favorite. So I told them if you want the best filly, in my opinion, she’s the one.” Sequel, which emerged with these top two prices, was among the consignors that did elect to go ahead with, essentially, in-hand breezes during an under-tack show that was officially untimed in its entirety, after part of the 2025 show wound up under similar circumstances. As poor weather affected the 2025 under-tack show for the Midlantic sale, and a filly suffered a catastrophic injury galloping out after her breeze, less than half of the juveniles entered in that sale turned in officially timed workouts, with the final session of the show eventually designated for untimed gallops only. The sale proceeded to finish with record results despite controversy, with four seven-figure horses, including one from the gallop session. Last summer, Fasig-Tipton announced that it would proceed with an officially untimed under-tack show for this Midlantic sale, and also presented updated crop restrictions. Unless there was a safety issue, riders were not permitted to remove their hands from the reins to strike a horse at any point before a breeze, during a breeze, or while galloping out. A tap on the shoulder while both hands remained on the reins to keep the horse focused was permitted. However, to label last week's action on the Timonium track - this is the only major-market sale in the country where juveniles are presented on a dirt track - would eliminate some nuance of the actual proceedings. While Fasig-Tipton did not time works or publish times, there were no restrictions on how consignors chose to present their horses. Horses were shown going a fast furlong under hand urging, in an open gallop, or something in between - and there was no restriction on private clocking on the grounds. Becky Thomas of Sequel had said in a pre-sale video on Fasig’s social media channels that she did plan to breeze horses from her consignment, but the new format presented less pressure than usual. "This year, coming in, I believe that we're going to have lots of beautiful breezes with no stick and no clock," Thomas said. "Our horses will be breezing, but they will be breezing in-hand. So that is the biggest change for us. It's less stressful on us as consignors, as well as less stress for the horses." Sequel's sale-topping Flightline colt, in official video from the sale company, did, as Thomas said, move as though he would have in a timed breeze, encouraged to pick up speed around the turn and into the straightaway before running strongly through to the wire. The Gun Runner filly moved in a similar fashion, although she needed much less encouragement. As many of these juveniles have worked before at their consignors' respective bases, the filly was keen coming around the turn and into the straightaway, clearly understanding where she was headed as her rider worked to hold her to a straight course. Once in the lane, a few shakes of the reins were enough to have her powering to the wire, and she galloped out well with little encouragement. The Gun Runner filly is out of the unraced Uncle Mo mare Modest Maven, dam of Grade 2-placed stakes winner Arctic Arrogance and stakes-placed Overstep. It is the family of champion sprinter Housebuster. Rounding out the seven-figure horses at this Midlantic sale, a colt from the first crop of champion juvenile Corniche sold for $1 million to Lee Ackerley from the consignment of De Meric Sales, as agent. The colt is out of the stakes-placed Dixie Union mare Secret Union, dam of stakes-placed Longclaw. The Corniche colt was entered in, but ultimately scratched from, the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s March sale of 2-year-olds in training. He did participate in the under-tack show before being withdrawn, breezing a furlong in 10 1/5 seconds on the all-weather Safetrack. In video of his Midlantic preview, he appears to go in a two-minute lick or a high gallop, with his rider moving with him, but slightly higher in the irons rather than crouched very low to ask for more speed. For hip-by-hip results from the Fasig Midlantic sale, click here. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.