Fasig-Tipton shortens auction

Fasig-Tipton has trimmed its Aug. 31 Texas summer yearling sale from two sessions to one this year with a catalog of 370 yearlings. The sale takes place at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Tex.

The two-day 2008 auction offered 443 yearlings, selling 281 for a total of $3,369,700, an average price of $11,992, and a median of $4,500. The gross was up 3 percent from the previous year's two-day sale of 241 yearlings. But the 2008 average and median were down by 12 percent and 27 percent, respectively. The 2008 buy-back rate of 37 percent was the same as in 2007.

"Our buyers and consignors often travel long distances in this part of the world to do business, and, while the one-day format means a long day, it will also be productive and, hopefully, more convenient," said Fasig-Tipton's Texas sale director, Tim Boyce.

The auction will begin at 10 a.m. at Lone Star on Aug. 31.

* Carter Sales Company has cataloged 113 yearlings to its annual summer sale at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds on Aug. 24. The auction features the offspring of such stallions as Bandini, Birdstone, Evansville Slew, Lucky Lionel, Touch Gold, and Yonaguska.