The 2020 edition of the Goshen Yearling Sale is coming up on Monday, September 14 at the Mark Ford Training Center in Middletown, New York.  A total of 88 yearlings will be sold during the one-day session with in-person, online, and phone options available for bidding.  Due to COVID-19 restrictions in place, there won't be any tents or food offered at the training center this year. This will be the sixth time that the Goshen Yearling Sale will take place, and it has definitely carved out a spot in the market despite its brief history. Last year's New York Sire Stakes finals saw three winners - Hickfromfrenchlick, Cigars And Port, and The Fun Marshall - that were Goshen graduates, and sales manager Mark Ford is quite pleased with how things have gone thus far. "It's been a nice, little surprise. When we first started this out, I had no idea how it would work, but a lot of the local breeders; they don't want to go to Morrisville because it's three hours away, and it just made no sense having it that far away," Ford said. "I'm not really in the horse sale business, but it's more of an alley for people here. We tried it the first year, and it worked out very well.  Sort of a trial-and-error thing, and it's been okay, and the horses that have come from here have really done well.  It's more of a regional-type sale, and we have more interest every year." It doesn’t take much looking around to read predictions about the sales market in 2020 being pretty dire given the impact COVID-19 has had on the industry and on the overall economy, but the news that New York’s casinos will open in September was welcome, and Ford is much more hopeful about things than he was prior to that. "You hear all the doomsday-sayers, and what are we going to do, what's the racing going to be like, but it looks like that Yonkers has ironed some stuff out and is going to stay open, and it looks like the casinos are getting open, and there's a breath of hope there for everybody," remarked Ford. “It comes at a good time that Governor Cuomo is going to open these casinos, and I'm a little more optimistic now than I was a couple of weeks ago. "It looks like they've got some kind of a formula through the New York Sire Stakes where it's not going to be nearly as catastrophic as first thought.  It looks like there will be money next year, and the news is all very good." Moving on to the sales roster and what to watch for, the harness racing industry will get its initial look at the offerings by first-crop sires Devious Man and Huntsville on Monday. Devious Man, a son of Credit Winner who stands at Blue Chip Farms, was trained by Julie Miller and driven by Andy Miller throughout his career.  He made over $1 million and was the New York Sire Stakes champion as a 2-year-old. As a sophomore, he won the Beal Memorial and the Empire Breeders Classic, was third-placed-second in the Hambletonian final, and was also the runner-up in the Kentucky Futurity, the Erskine, and the Matron. Devious Man has three yearlings to sell at Goshen, including HIP 51 Middleman. This colt, bred by Steve Jones and Fair Winds Farm Inc. and consigned by Cameo Hills Farm, is out of the Victory Dream mare Vivica Hall, making him a three-quarter brother to $442,225 earner Shaq Is Back (by Credit Winner).  Middleman is also a three-quarter brother to another six-figure earner in Shaqline (by Credit Winner) and a half-brother to multiple-time New York Sire Stakes leg winner Velocity Hall (by Conway Hall). Huntsville, a Somebeachsomewhere stallion based at Cameo Hills, earned $1.7 million in his two years on the track for trainer Ray Schnittker and driver Tim Tetrick.  He was the Breeders Crown champion as a freshman and added the Meadowlands Pace, Cane, and Jenna's Beach Boy to his haul as a 3-year-old. Fourteen babies by Huntsville will pass through the ring on Monday, and among them will be HIP 29 Instant Expert. Instant Expert, a colt consigned by Cameo Hills Farm, is out of Pedigree Snob, an Allamerican Native mare who earned $439,639 in her time on the track and has thrown the likes of Wine Snob, an Art Major mare who made $201,066 during her racing career. Pedigree Snob is also a half-sister to the previously-mentioned The Fun Marshall, last year's New York Sire Stakes champion in the 2-year-old pacing filly division. In addition to Devious Man and Huntsville, there's also one yearling by first-crop sire Downbytheseaside in the sale, HIP 17 Wherestheboardwalk. Cameo Hills is acting as agent on this colt, who is the first foal out of a half-sister to $577,937 earner Santa Fe Beachboy.  Also, the third dam Skyfire threw former Metro Pace champion Yankee Skyscaper. While the first-crop sires bring a level of excitement to the sale, there are plenty of prospects from established stallions like So Surreal, Rock N Roll Heaven, and Heston Blue Chip, and a single yearling by the red-hot Chapter Seven. Three-year-old pacing colt Splash Brother has won two New York Sire Stakes legs and the Empire Breeders Classic final this year, and bidders will have a chance to purchase his So Surreal full brother in HIP 43 Speed It Up. Another one from the Cameo Hills consignment, Speed It Up's dam Sugarcoated is a half-sibling to a number of talented individuals such as Northern Luck, V P Finance, Bear Dance, and Town Champion. Winbak Farm will be an active consignor in Goshen as they have 38 head to sell in total, and the list of Rock N Roll Heavens they have includes HIP 18 Title Cut, a colt out of the Presidential Ball mare Love That Cut, who earned over $301,000 in her career. Not only was she a successful horse, she's a sister to the co-fastest Standardbred of all-time in millionaire Lather Up and also six other six-figure earners. Another Rock N Roll Heaven to look at from Winbak is HIP 59 Accounted.  This colt's Shadow Play half-sister Dudesalady won the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots Series final as a 2-year-old, was third in the Ontario Sires Stakes Super Final the next year, and came back as an aged performer to finish fourth behind Shartin N in the Blue Chip Matchmaker Series final at Yonkers. Accounted's dam Accountable is also out of millionaire Delinquent Account, making Accountable an Artsplace full sister to Artiscape and Arterra, the dam of Western Terror and If I Can Dream. Heston Blue Chip's last group of New York-eligible yearlings are selling this year since Winbak moved him to Pennsylvania for the 2020 breeding season, and there will be a total of 13 by him up for auction during the session. HIP 79 Blaz N Chip is a Winbak-bred-and-consigned Heston Blue Chip colt who is out of the Geartogear mare Crystal Blaze. She has produced two six-figure earners of her own and is also a half-sister to $1.3 million earner Shacked Up and to Babylon Sister, who threw one of the top 2-year-old pacing colts in Indiana in 2020 in Brookview Bullet. The single Chapter Seven at the Goshen Yearling Sale is a Cameo Hills colt, and he is HIP 26 Harvey Two Face.  Out of the Donato Hanover mare New Sensation, Harvey Two Face's 2-year-old half-brother Sidd Finch just broke his maiden by 5 1/2 lengths in 1:58 4/5 at Harrah's Hoosier Park on September 3rd, and he's from the family of Supergrit under the third dam. The Goshen Yearling Sale will begin at noon.  The full sale roster, catalogs, and all other pertinent details are available at their website goshenyearlingsale.com. Additionally, there will be streaming video and bidding provided through cattleinmotion.com. There is a one-time sign-up process to go through at that site that takes about five minutes to do, but once completed, will allow you to watch the sale, receive real-time updates, and bid on horses if interested.