Harness: The Claw tops Preferred Equine Online sale at $146,000
It's billed as "the online sale of quality racehorses" and that's exactly what buyers came away with from the Sept. 12 Preferred Equine Online Mixed Sale.
Leading the auction at a price of $146,000 was The Claw p,3,1:49 4/5-'22, who came into the sale with a last-out victory in the Empire Breeders Classic Final at Tioga Downs on Aug. 28. The sophomore colt by Huntsville was consigned by PEO as agent for Klein, Cimaglio, Salmeri and Demeter and was purchased by Jeff Berger's Bet The House LLC.
"The demand for proven racehorses that can be bought and dropped in the box right away is strong as ever," said manager David Reid. "There's plenty of money out there to race for and there's an overall shortage of horses, so buyers are lined up for the best of them."
Those proven horses also included the Captaintreacherous 3-year-old Atlas Hanover p,3,1:51 2/5f-'22. Offered as agent for trainer Tony Alagna, the stakes winner with more than $164,000 on his card was purchased by Thestable.ca for $88,000.
Another leading seller was the iron-tough 4-year-old King James Express, an East Coast, upper-conditions regular who was purchased by the Weaver Bruscemi partnership for $84,000 after being offered by PEO for Dean Lockhart and partners.
Seven racehorses sold for $62,000 or more.
In all, 28 of 31 horses offered were sold for a gross of $861,500, with racehorses averaging $41,184. Those not sold are still listed on the sale page as "make offer," with asking price included for each.
Bidding was active throughout the sale, with Reid noting that the number of registered bidders continues to grow. "One thing I hear time and again from our customers is how much they appreciate each sale's transparency... who's selling, who's bidding and who's buying."
Preferred Equine Online's next mixed sale is in two weeks, on Monday, Sept. 26. Entries are now being accepted at preferredequineonline.com.
With regional yearling sales already underway and national sales soon to follow, Reid said it's an ideal time to sell racehorses to help make way for anticipated yearling purchases.
-edited release (Preferred Equine Online)