Harness: Curtain comes down on 2019 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale

The 2019 Lexington Selected Yearling Sale wrapped up on Saturday night with a record gross and a 7.66 percent gain in average year-over-year.

Indiana-sired horses dominated the final session with a trio of them occupying the top of the board. Kathy Smith purchased both HIP 678 Tabooma (Always A Virgin, $97,000) and HIP 684 Love For All (Swan For All, $93,000) and spliting them was HIP 782 Creedom (Swan For All, $95,000), who was bought by agent Preferred Equine Inc. for Lindy Farm. Tabooma and Love For All were both consigned by agent Anvil And Lace Farm, while Creedom sold from the consignment of agent Peninsula Farms Inc.

The average for the night ($23,016 / 129 horses sold) was down just slightly from last year ($23,836 / 116 horses sold). With 13 more horses going through the ring this year, the gross went up from $2,765,000 in 2018 to $2,969,000 this year.

For the five nights in total, the sale finished with an average of $60,997 (762 horses sold) and a record gross of $46,480,000. The average was up 7.66 percent over last year ($56,652 / 702 horses sold), and the gross rose from a then-record $39,770,000.

For sires that sold double-digit horses, Muscle Hill topped the averages at $130,073 (55 horses) and the gross at $7,154,000. The top five sires on average were completed by Somebeachsomewhere ($112,763 / 38 horses), Father Patrick ($111,667 / 48 horses), Chapter Seven ($87,895 / 38 horses), and Captaintreacherous ($73,776 / 49 horses). Father Patrick was second in gross at $$5,360,000, followed by Somebeachsomewhere ($4,285,000), Always B Miki ($3,994,000), and Captaintreacherous ($3,615,000).

Trotting colts topped the market, with 207 of them selling for $14,284,000 and an average of $69,005. 201 of their filly counterparts sold for $12,892,000, good for an average of $64,139. On the pacing side, 204 colts fetched a sum of $11,817,000 and an average of $57,926 and 150 pacing fillies went through the ring, fetching $7,487,000 and an average of $49,913.

The top consignor by gross was Preferred Equine, Inc. at $9,731,000 for their 137 offerings. They were followed by Hunterton Sales Agency, Inc. at $7,435,000 (110 yearlings), Kentuckiana Farms at $7,353,000 (93 yearlings), Winbak Farm at $3,274,000 (91 yearlings), and Peninsula Farm, Inc. at $2,702,000 (43 yearlings). Cane Run Farm had the best average, with their ten babies averaging $164,500. Vieux Carre' Farms ($87,217 / 23 yearlings), Kentuckiana Farms ($79,065), All American Harnessbreds ($77,250 / 12 yearlings), and Preferred Equine, Inc. ($71,029) were next on that list.

The top buyer at the sale was agent Nancy Johansson at $1,980,000 for eight purchases. Brixton Medical AB ($1,680,000 / seven yearlings), Determination Stable ($1,520,000 / six yearlings), The Maverick Group (bought top seller HIP 44 Maverick for $1.1 million), and Burke Racing Stable LLC. ($1,049,000 / 17 yearlings) were the remainder of the top five.

With the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale now in the books, there are two more major yearling sales this month - the London Selected Yearling Sale in Ontario on the 19th and 20th and the Hoosier Classic Yearling Sale in Indiana on the 25th and 26th. After that, the Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, will take place on November 4-8, with the last two days being the mixed sale portion of that event.