Fasig-Tipton numbers soar

Fasig-Tipton Kentucky's October yearling sale ended Tuesday with buoyant results that lifted the auction's financial results by double-digit percentages.

A $400,000 Saint Ballado-Metromane filly that George Saufley bought from the Paramount agency was the two-day auction's sale-topper.

Selling just nine more horses than last year, the 2003 auction saw a 45 percent jump in gross receipts, a 42 percent gain in average price, and a 52 percent leap in median price. The two sessions sold 528 yearlings this year for a total of $9,219,400. The average price was $17,461, and the median was $6,000. The buy-back rate dropped from 24 percent last year to 22 percent.