The Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred yearling sale vital to industry

On the racetrack, New York-bred runners can shine with the best of them on national and international stages. That has been ably demonstrated by the likes of 2003 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner and Eclipse Award champion Funny Cide; 2020 Belmont Stakes winner Tiz the Law; Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf winner and Eclipse Award champion Dayatthespa; Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner Bar of Gold; Mind Your Biscuits, a multiple Group 1 winner in Dubai; and Japanese Group 1 winners A Shin Forward and Moanin.

But as far as the commercial arena goes, it is paramount for breeders and owners to have a local marketplace to showcase their stock to prospective buyers. After a year’s hiatus, they get that back as the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred preferred yearling sale returns to Saratoga Springs on Aug. 15-16.

With the coronavirus pandemic placing restrictions on travel and gatherings last year, the New York-bred sale, along with Fasig-Tipton’s other summer yearling auctions, was canceled. The yearlings of that crop were sold out of state, mainly at Kentucky’s major fall sales and in Maryland, and struggled to find a foothold.

“The pandemic was an unprecedented near disaster for New York-bred weanlings and yearlings,” said Erin Robinson, stallion seasons manager for Rockridge Stud in Hudson. “With no dedicated sales to attend, commercial breeders were left to decide which other regional market would be the best alternative.

“Unfortunately, restrictions on travel made it impossible to have the right buyers at the right place in many instances. Many sellers had to take a beating on sales prices as a result.”

Beyond the immediate impact of reduced sale prices, the lack of a dedicated market for New York-breds had a more wide-reaching impact, as the local sale is important for the purpose of feeding quality horses back into the state’s races.

“I think it’s the backbone for the New York breeders and the people that support that program,” said Mark Taylor, vice president of sales and marketing for leading consignor Taylor Made Sales. “That’s the cornerstone of the market for them.

“They take their horses and then there’s a very good likelihood that the horse is going to stay in America or in New York, and [make them eligible for] awards. One thing that’s scary about taking a New York-bred to a sale outside of New York is, you put all that effort into creating this horse that is eligible for this great bonus program, and then if it gets bought by someone who is going to take it to another state or a different country, all of a sudden, all that work kind of went out the window. So I think that that sale is so important for the New York program, and I know it was a big stress on those breeders last year not having it.”

The most recent renewal of the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred sale, in 2019, was topped by a sale-record $775,000 Malibu Moon filly. Overall, the auction finished with some not unexpected declines from 2018’s record returns, reaching a plateau after several consecutive years of growth. The 2018 edition established records for gross ($18,492,000), average ($107,512), and median ($76,000). The 2019 sale finished with 186 horses sold for $16,200,000, resulting in an average of $87,097 and median of $60,000.

There are 308 yearlings cataloged for the return renewal of this sale. National sire power is represented, with multiple yearlings in the catalog by two-time reigning leading sire and commercial juggernaut Into Mischief, as well as prominent stallions such as Bernardini, Candy Ride, Distorted Humor, and Uncle Mo.

New York’s top sires also are represented, with three yearlings in the catalog by perennial leading sire Freud, who stands at Sequel Stallions in Hudson, and 12 in the catalog by McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds’ Central Banker, a young leading sire who appears poised to take over the mantle. There also are a dozen in the catalog from the third and final crop sired at Sequel in New York for Laoban, the state’s breakout freshman sire of 2020.

Also, standout first-crop yearling sires, both from Kentucky and New York, are represented. There is one yearling in the catalog from the highly sought first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify, as well as representatives for early commercial standouts City of Light and Mendelssohn, as well as Eclipse champions Accelerate, Good Magic, and West Coast.

Justify’s graded stakes-winning half-brother The Lieutenant, who stood a single season at Sequel before his death in Peru, is represented by one New York-bred yearling from his first and only crop. Other New York first-crop yearling sires represented are New York-bred millionaire Weekend Hideaway, who stands for Irish Hill and Dutchess Views Stallions in Stillwater; Grade 2 winner Frank Conversation, who stands at Rockridge; and Redesdale, who stands at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds.

Weekend Hideaway, who earned more than $1.1 million, was a multiple restricted stakes winner and also was Grade 1-placed. Both he and Redesdale, a winner of 3 of 4 career starts, are by Speightstown, who has made an impact in the state already as the sire of Central Banker.

Frank Conversation is by Quality Road, also the sire of one of Kentucky’s most prominent first-crop sires in City of Light. Frank Conversation earned more than $500,000, with wins in the Grade 2 Twilight Derby on turf at Santa Anita and Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby on synthetic at Golden Gate.

“We were very pleased with the reception for him in years one and two,” Robinson said. “The pandemic certainly had an impact on his sales figures, and his third-year numbers are not what we had hoped. Frank is, in my opinion, the best-looking stallion in the state of New York, and has a very good chance of success if these foals end up in the right hands.

“He bred enough mares to make a splash, and he is certainly stamping these foals with his stunning looks,” Robinson continued. “My hope is always that these stallions’ foals end up in the right hands and come back to New York to race.”

This story appears in our special edition previewing the 2021 yearling sales season. You can download the complete special edition as a PDF by clicking here.