There is an old saying that "money comes to money," and we decided to put that to the test by examining the Standardbred Horse Sale over the last five years. While it isn't quite as hard as picking a needle out of a haystack or hitting the lottery, finding a seasonal leader in earnings or a generational talent is far from easy, and spending more money doesn't guarantee success. Over the last five years at the Standardbred Horse Sale there have been 43 horses which sold for $300,000 or more and to date (as of 10/30/22) just six have earned over their purchase price. Of course that includes a group of horses from ages 2 through 6, so the younger horses haven't had the same opportunity as the older ones, but the bottom line is 14 percent have produced a "profit" over time, not including the cost of board and training. To be fair, 21 of the 43 horses were fillies, and they retain residual value as broodmares. Fellowship Of Two sold for $415,000 in 2018 as the second-highest yearling, and she already has two foals, one of which is selling as HIP 54 (Memorynimagination) in Harrisburg as part of the Peninsula Farm consignment, and many others have foals on the ground or on the way. While hitting a home run with a yearling is certainly the goal, when you can breed a purchased filly and a few years later potentially get hundreds-of-thousands back on your investment, the hefty sales price becomes less relevant. The sale-topper in four of the last five Harrisburg (2020 took place at Timonium) sales was a trotting filly. Of the seven horses during that time to bring north of $500,000 at auction, five were trotting fillies and two trotting colts, one of which is Oh Well, the one clear "breakthrough" horse of the 43 from the last handful of years. Sold as Lord Bridgerton for $530,000, Oh Well sits 12th in earnings for all horses this year at $740,118. He also sits atop the leaderboard in terms of 2-year-old earnings and is joined by Save America (sold as All Day Party for $300,000), who is 16th in rookie earnings. All told, the average return on investment from racing the 43 horses that sold for over $300,000 (average price $350,232) has been just over $110,000. It is worth noting that six of the horses are current 2-year-olds that have yet to race or earn money and could certainly break out as 3-year-olds and bump the average up considerably. Just for fun we did a similar search for the Lexington Selected sale using $400,000 as the magic price and found 28 horses sold for that number over the last five years and only one horse – Chestnut Hill ($622,189) – earned over his selling price. That group includes seven 2-year-olds who haven't earned money yet and could mature over the winter, and a pair of six-figure winners in Ari Ferrari J and Walner Payton, who is actually just $2,232 short of her $510,000 cost. For the record, the average return on the track has been just over $92,000 per yearling off an average selling price of $560,535. On top of the numbers above, three of the top 10 earners in 2022 were never even sold at auction. That group includes Joviality S, Beach Glass and Jiggy Jog S.   There is a positive side in this sea of red numbers as opportunity certainly exists to show up at Harrisburg - or any yearling sale - and come away a big winner. The top earner this year and a horse that has been hailed as one of the best in history - Bulldog Hanover - $1.47 million - was available at Harrisburg in 2018 for $28,000! Looking at the current crop of 2-year-old earning leaders, three of the top five are Harrisburg graduates, including the aforementioned Oh Well. Twin B Joe Fresh was a double Sire Stakes winner who made just shy of $600,000 and could've been yours in 2021 for $65,000 as HIP 630. Sylvia Hanover was sold for $135,000 as HIP 121, has made $670,865 and won a Breeders Crown, as did Gaines Hanover, a $50,000 purchase as HIP 287. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Expanding out to 3-year-olds, Temporal Hanover was a $55,000 purchase that has taken home checks totaling $764,500. Boudoir Hanover sold for $200,000 and has earned $591,358 to date. All of the above (with the exception of Boudoir Hanover) have brothers or sisters for sale in the opening session at Harrisburg on November 7. Oh Well's full brother Superior Stats sells as HIP 105 from the Concord Stud Farm consignment. Twin B Joe Fresh's Bettor's Delight half-sister Twin B Roulette is #58 from Twinbrook Farms. Sula Hanover, a Downbytheseaside half-sister to Sylvia Hanover is HIP 131 from Hanover Shoe Farms. Hanover also sells Tandem Hanover as HIP 60, a full sister to Temporal Hanover, and HIP 63 Good Faith Hanover, a Greenshoe sister to Gaines Hanover. Finally, HIP 122 is a Bettor's Delight half-brother to Save America called Best Day selling for All American Harnessbreds. On the topic of siblings, you may want to take note of those that sold for big numbers last year and didn't perform so you can get on board at a discount. In 2018 Bellareina Dolce sold for $400,000 and made $0 but the next foal from Bella Dolce was near double millionaire Bella Bellini, though she didn't go to auction. Ineffable sold for $600,000 in 2019 and failed to earn six figures but the next foal from Jolene Jolene - Venerable - went for only $210,000 and made over $1.1 million. Energetic Hanover brought $325,000 in 2020 at Timonium and has earned $147,339. His full brother Ervin Hanover cost just $115,000 the next year at Harrisburg and has already earned $204,375 as a rookie. With that in mind, could a full brother to last year's sale-topper In Italian ($750,000) be the value play? Monticello sells as HIP 101 for Concord Stud Farm. What about HIP 167 Flash Fly? Her dam Woodshopper switched to Walner last year and the yearling - Craft Made - went for $610,000 but only earned $2,480. Could Flash Fly be a bargain despite moving to the desirable Greenshoe? Whether you spend big or small, there is something for everyone at the Standardbred Horse Sale in Harrisburg. You can spend a lot and make a little, spend a little and make a lot, or somewhere in between. In all likelihood, regardless of your budget or desires, you will walk away happy with what you purchased and hopefully you'll remain that way seven months later when those yearlings hit the track for their first official lines.