The Standardbred world will convene in Lexington, Kentucky, starting on September 29 to bid on the stars of the future in the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. While neither bidders nor sellers can predict the final sales prices or how the horses will ultimately perform when called to duty on the track, all signs point to a lively auction from the opening session full of regally-bred colts and fillies right through the four programs to follow. What has consignors smiling in the days leading up to Lexington include a number of positive indicators for what is on the horizon as over 900 yearlings hit the sales floor. Strong purses, booming economic conditions and upward trending sales thus far from both breeds have some of the consignors at Lexington with the most opening night offerings feeling good. "The stock market has been great," said Kentuckiana's Bob Brady, who will sell 17 during the first session and 139 over the five days. "It is a good market and they are racing for a lot of money in every jurisdiction. Kentucky is really strong, but the finals in Pennsylvania were good, New York was really good, Ohio has a heck of a program, and Ontario has always been good. The main thing is that they are racing for a lot of money and people know that. "I think Kentucky pushed other jurisdictions to up their game. New Jersey and New York added to their programs to stay competitive." Regional sales in both New York and Ohio checked in with positive results already in 2025. The Goshen Yearling Sale saw a 36 percent increase in gross and a 2.3 percent gain in average sales price. At the Ohio Selected Jug Sale, a new high for gross sales of $8.6 million was recorded as the number jumped 9.3 percent from 2024. "The sales have been going very well," said Steve Jones from Cameo Hills Farm. "Historically you don't know when things are going to go in the wrong direction, but I certainly don't see any signs of it. They are racing for too much money. Every jurisdiction; certainly New York and others. I would think the sales will be pretty much the same as last year." "I was just at Keeneland the other day and watched a whole lot of money being thrown around at the [Thoroughbred] sale," said Crawford Farms' proprietor Michelle Panebianco. "Hopefully that flows over into the Standardbred sales this year. I just read something was sold for $3.3 million. They are reserving horses for $800,000 and $900,000; wouldn't that be great?" While all eyes will be on opening night as averages have been inching closer to the $200,000 level, Steve Stewart from Hunterton Sales Agency likes the fact that there is something for everyone throughout the sale and even the bargain shopper can come home with a diamond in the rough. "The money has also been spread around quite a bit," said Stewart on how purses seem to be available to all types of horses and those who send them out. "I remember when it was [Jimmy] Takter and [Ron] Burke and Burke and Takter, and it doesn't seem to be that way anymore. It seems like everyone can get a drink of water. Just using our consignment over the years, we sold Apex for $525,000 last year and on the same day sold Endurance for $14,000. That is as top and bottom as you can get on the same day, and they turned out to be two of the best trotting colts in the country." One sign that 2025 could eclipse the previous year, at least in terms of gross sales, is the layout of the yearlings. The original catalog lists 911 total yearlings, 515 on the trot and 396 pacers. That split shows an increase of 49 trotters and an equal decrease in the number of pacers. As pacers sold for just under $60,000 and trotters just over $85,000 on average in 2024, one could expect that the rise in numbers on the trot will produce gains in the sale. Between Hunterton Sales Agency, Crawford Farms, Kentuckiana Farms and Cameo Hills Farm, they will sell 71 of the 120 yearlings on the elite opening-night session. We reached out to the main players from each of the sellers to get their comments not just for Monday's opener but also their consignments in general. Crawford Farms Crawford Farms sold some horses at Goshen this year, which means they are only bringing the crème of the crop to Lexington. They will sell 46 in total and 13 on opening night. "The ones we have going to Lexington include absolutely every yearling we have to sell, including fillies this year," said Panebianco, who admitted she wouldn't mind staying in on a couple of the fillies if the buyer was amenable. "I feel like there are brothers and sisters to amazing racehorses. Karl has a sister in there, and we have sibblings from Brandon Blvd and Ubrute, so hopefully we see more good things from them. Our first day lineup is kind of a who's who, a lot of first foals from well-bred mares. I'm very excited about what we are bringing to market all four days." Some of Panebianco's top picks on the Monday session, which starts at 7 P.M. (EDT), include: HIP 19 UMBRIA New Jersey and Kentucky Eligible This one is the first foal from Dan Patch Award winner Anoka Hanover and we've already seen Tactical Landing put forth a pair of Hambletonian winners as a stallion. "That one is a stunning individual," said Panebianco. "I call him Karl 2.0. For me, he looks and acts just like Karl. I've watched him grow up and if you look at his video and see him on the ground, he is just stunning." HIP 34 EMI New York and Kentucky Eligible Filly is from a mare in Corazon Blue Chip that sends out big-time earners, including Valentina Blu ($556K), Fourth Dimension ($409K) and Heart On Fire ($402K) in the group. Looking at the video, she is a bit leggy but certainly moves nicely. "We lost Corazon after foaling this year, and she was one of the matriarchs of our farm. It was a really hard loss for us. But we have sisters and this would be one obviously. She is one that we really love, and it is hard to put her in the sale, but at some point you have to do business and make money," said Panebianco. "I think I know a good individual but sometimes they fool you. She just walks out and you are like 'wow!' She's the nicest filly the mare has had." HIP 44 SEASIDE UBEAUT Ohio and Kentucky Eligible From two-time Dan Patch winner Warrawee Ubeaut, this gal is a Downbytheseaside sister to Ubrute, who recently won the Kentucky Championship Series final at The Red Mie in 1:49 4/5. Viewing her on the video, she certainly looks the part of a well-built pacing filly. "On the ground she is stunning," said Panebianco. "Ubeaut produced Ubrute from Tall Dark Stranger and the world has been very remiss about [his crops] out of the gate. If Ubrute can go out and keep producing big miles, he'll put Tall Dark Stranger on the map." HIP 63 OLIVER BLU New Jersey and Kentucky Eligible The first colt from $860K winner Barn Girl is an Ecurie D-sired brother to Torrisi, who won the Zweig Filly Trot earlier in the year and has made over $400,000 in her career. "This colt is probably one of the nicest-looking individuals. He gets centerfold of the year. He's correct and a complete athlete. On the floor and in the paddock he is just wow. He is going to be out of his stall more than in his stall in Lexington," said Panebianco. Not singled out by Panebianco but one that caught our eye was HIP 92 OAKLEY DOKES. Eligible in both New Jersey and Kentucky, the colt is the first foal from a sister to Hambletonian winner Ramona Hill. Check out his video and he blazes the way in the field, leading us to ask: Is she really that fast? "He is [that fast]," said Panebianco. "I'll be dead honest, he is very small. I have liked him since I first saw him. When he came out into that paddock he was lightning. My mouth was on the ground. He's perfect, butt down, wide, his legs extend behind him. He is a powerful little thing. Atlanta was powerful. I don't think Marion Marauder was that big. A lot of horses have big hearts. Sometimes they can be small and be good too." Digging deeper into the later days of her consignment, Panebianco felt it wise not to sleep on the yearlings by International Moni and Ecurie D. "International Moni has shown up very well for our yearlings this year. The jury was out maybe on whether he had the best books or top mares, but what I see with my International Monis this year, and I'll say the same thing for the Ecuries, I'm quite impressed with what is on the ground. I wouldn't hesitate to purchase one of them," said Panebianco. Along those lines, those willing to save some of their budget for day three might check out HIP 404 REDBOTTOMROYALTY. According to Panebianco "she's special." ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Hunterton Sales Agency Just two years removed from leading all consignors at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale in 2023, Steve and Cindy Stewart's Hunterton Sales Agency seems poised to do it again this year due to sheer numbers. They will be selling a new high of 126 yearlings in 2025, topping the 2023 previous mark of 111. "Some of the clients have gotten more and that is the reason we've gotten to 126. It's not like we picked up any new clients," said Steve Stewart. "We probably have more at Harrisburg than we've ever had, close to 60. People just keep sending us more and more mares and we end up with more and more horses." With 29 selling on opening night and with Stewart representing a number of clients, we didn't want to put him on the spot to pick out a few. Instead we asked which one may be a sale-topper and then provided some HIPs with videos and pedigrees that stood out to us so he could comment. HIP 94 TURTLE DOVE New Jersey and Kentucky Eligible That she is the first foal from multi-millionaire and Dan Patch winner When Dovescry is enough on its own to ensure ample bidding. That this Walner-sired yearling is a trotting filly, a sector which led in gross and average by far in 2024 ensures it. "The When Dovescry [Turtle Dove] has the potential," said Stewart on a potential sale-topper. "I think if all you did was run around and buy Walner fillies it would be hard to think you didn't have a good chance to have a good horse. "To me, the only issue with that filly is that she's not big and so often you get penalized by that at the yearling sales. You also see it when the mares come back as broodmares. A lot of ours like Emilie Cas El and Pizza Dolce...some of the best mares we've had are not big at all. You would almost call them small. "She's not a tall filly but she is very long and balanced. That's the same as 93 [SOCIAL HOUR], the Lonely Lady filly. They are very similar. They are very well-made and correct. I think they'll sell accordingly." HIP 4 TYNDALL Kentucky and Kentucky Stallion Bonus Eligible She's a sister to the great Mission Brief and Tactical Landing. The video looked good and that she goes early could help her price a smidge. "She is not a big filly but she has it all," said Stewart. "One of the grooms from Finland that has been here for about 10 years, she said 'the family is there.' She didn't take care of Tactical Landing, but she had Mission Brief and a lot of the others out of that mare. Southwind Serena just makes them different. They have a mind of their own but are highly intelligent and are easy to get along with. Just like Mission Brief was, when you call them she is the first one there." HIP 66 VAINQUEUR Ontario and Kentucky Eligible If you want a pacing colt that simply looks fast in his video, this is your guy. But the price won't be cheap since he's a Bulldog Hanover and the first foal from $1.2 million-winning Dan Patch champion Fire Start Hanover. "He's unbelievable," said Stewart. "You never like to say 'if there is a better pacing colt you'll have to show it to me,' but he is very close. "My prediction is that this time next year Bulldog Hanover will be a top stallion. I have the same feeling as I had with Somebeachsomewhere. His foals are just bigger- and stronger-looking." HIP 78 EXQUIS New Jersey and Kentucky Eligible This mare's only other foal was Monserrate, a winner of $479,833 as he continues through his second season on the track. Third dam was also a good producer with a couple having made over $500K. Her video is quite nice as she moves very fluidly. "She is a very nice filly," said Stewart. "She is not heavy but she is very tall and lanky. She looks like a really fast filly." HIP 113 DOWN BY THE SEA Ohio and Kentucky Eligible Colt is a Downbytheseaside brother to Horse of the Year Tall Dark Stranger and his size and stride are evident in his video. Mom Precocious Beauty also produced Beautyonthebeach ($540K) and second dam gave us the speedy Sportswriter. "He's very big colt and being a brother to Tall Dark Stranger doesn't hurt," said Stewart. Stewart was kind enough to provide some HIPs that could fall through the cracks as they are later in his consignment. You may want to take a second look at these: HIP 461 GAMESTER: Tactical Landing out of Chelsees A Winner – Brother to Hey Porter ($199K). HIP 487 OCEAN STORM: Chapter Seven out of Empressive Hill – "The mare hasn't hit yet but this is a really nice colt." HIP 840 MUNICH: Rebuff out of Angelina Chip – "He's a really nice colt that people might not consider because he's out of an older mare." HIP 929 NEXT LEVEL COOL: Cuatro De Julio out of Princess Andi – "This filly, I own part of her. She is just so full of herself; all trot. I don't know if we've ever had one like that. Walner Payton was kinda of like that. She ended up selling for $500,000. But who is going to be looking at Cuatro De Julios? I'm very interested to see how she races and how her energy transfers to the racetrack. She's like the bubbly person in the office that is always happy and you think, 'I just can't handle her today.' But you love them to death because they are just full of life. She took a good video but she's not all that big." Cameo Hills Farm Steve Jones will bring 44 to the sale and an even dozen for opening night inspection. All but two of his Monday options are trotters and while they lack dual-eligibility, Jones is not concerned. "I'm not worried about not being Kentucky eligible. With the exception of Hanover Shoe Farm in 2024 we had the highest average of any consignor at the sale and none of ours were Kentucky eligible," said Jones. "The New York program is better than the Kentucky program, there is no doubt about that. Just look at the number of eligibles. There are four times as many horses that are eligible in Kentucky who you have to compete against. Not being dual-eligible doesn't strike any fear in me at all." While the majority of Jones' consignment were raised at Cameo Hills, he does have a new client this year with some power. "We are selling a Captaintreacherous for Hot Lead Farm that is pretty nice [HIP 14 SKY BLUE LOU]. We are selling four from them and have never sold for them before," said Jones. Of the opening night crowd for Cameo Hills Farm, Jones singled out a quartet that should garner plenty of attention. HIP 50 VALOROUS New Jersey Eligible Colt is from the small first crop of Alrajah One with only 11 foals registered. They paired the stallion with Dan Patch winner Venerable and this is her first foal. "He looks like his mother and he's beautiful," said Jones. "I don't know that he will top the sale because you don't know what they are going to like, but he's certainly in the conversation." HIP 60 DAY ONE DANDY New Jersey Eligible Here is another Walner-sired filly and this one is the first foal from a consistent stakes performer in Delilah Hanover, a full sister to Delaney Hanover, who was third in the Hambletonian Oaks this year. "She has a strong page with well-bred fillies. Her mother was an expensive filly herself," said Jones. HIP 79 FLY LIKE A DOVE New York Eligible What do you get when you combine Chapter Seven with a fast Bluebird Dove? This is her first foal and the family shows millionaire Perfect Spirit on the page. "Her mother is a world champion, fastest 3-year-old trotting filly ever on a half-mile track. The mother had ability. There is plenty of page there," said Jones. "I've had several people inquiring about that filly. It is a nice page. There is a lot of speed in the family." Digging a bit deeper into his consignment, Jones feels there is plenty of quality worth consideration. "The Greenshoe filly out of Brickhouse Babe [HIP 220 SLAVE TO FASHION] is terrific," said Jones. "I realize some people are not Greenshoe fans, but I suspect they'll be fans of that one." "I'm selling a Bulldog Hanover colt the second night out of Night Music [HIP 292 THE MATTERHORN]. She's a Somebeachsomewhere mare and she had a Betting Line that made $600,000, Night Hawk; not too many Betting Lines have done that. She also had an Always B Miki that had a record of 1:48 2/5 and made over $300,000. I think people will like that one. "The Perfect Sting filly out of Philly Hanover [HIP 572 PHILLY'S STING] that I'm selling for Hot Lead, I think she'll be well-liked." Kentuckiana Farms No consignor will sell more yearlings at the Lexington Selected Sale than Kentuckiana Farms. They have 140 in the catalog and co-owner Bob Brady is thrilled with his group. "I'm really happy because the individuals match up with the pedigrees, which is not always guaranteed. This year in particular the right horses look like they are supposed to look," said Brady. "It is a very deep consignment. There is a lot of quality throughout, and it is not just opening night, it is day one through five, particularly day four has a lot of nice horses in it. There just wasn't enough spots to get them in on days two or three due to the number of horses in the sale." Bidders will notice an addition to the Kentuckiana collection as they take on the Brittany Farms consignment with them no longer handling it themselves. "I think with the addition of the Brittany Farms yearlings it has added a lot of pacers to our consignment which we didn't have in the past. I'm really excited about our first year selling for Mr. Segal and Brittany Farms," said Brady. Like Hunterton, Kentuckiana Farms is selling for a number of clients, including Brittany, Marvin Katz, Al Libfeld and others. With that, we did the usual pedigree and video inspection and asked him to comment on a few. HIP 17 HE'S MONI New Jersey and Kentucky Eligible Lots of family here and he's a brother to Looks Like Moni ($564K) and related to Dan Patch winner Snow White. If that isn't enough, he certainly trots nicely in his video. "Thats All Moni's Walner colt is outstanding," said Brady. "He's gorgeous; a great-looking individual who is correct and checks all the boxes." HIP 70 DEJEUNER New Jersey and Kentucky Eligible This gal is a Walner sister to French Champagne, who earned nearly $600K on the track. She's also from the family of millionaire French Wine and there is much to like about the way she trots in her video. "The French Café filly is exceptional and beautiful with a giant pedigree," said Brady. "[She] has the ability to be a sale-topper type." HIP 102 MISS WHITNEY New Jersey and Kentucky Eligible Filly is a first foal and from Muscle Hill. The family has produced three-time Dan Patch winner Ariana G as well as All The Time ($931K). Not only does she have pedigree but is also a looker. "She is very nice," said Brady. Above is just a sampling of the 120 yearlings slated to sell on Monday night in Lexington. Each one has something to like, whether in the pedigree or in the individual itself. Deciphering which will produce on the track is far from an exact science. The only guarantee is that some will become champions and many will make in the hundreds of thousands in 2026 and beyond.