Harness: Something for all tastes in Friday's Mixed Sale at Harrisburg

Back in the old days when racetracks still had backstretches, mixed sales were generally reserved for cheap racehorses that had issues. I bought my very first horse at the Blooded Horse Sales Company Winter Mixed Speed Sale. Well, Jake Spinner did not have speed, but he was certainly mixed, since he couldn't decide if he was a trotter or a pacer. If a horse was good, you could sell him to another horseman. Mixed sales were for weanlings and broodmares, maybe for stallion breedings. You stayed away from the racehorses, because they all had holes.

Not anymore. This year's Standardbred Horse Sales Company (The Black Book) Mixed Sale features something for everyone. Wanna buy a Horse of the Year? They have one. Wanna buy a current Breeders Crown champ? They have that too. It's really pretty remarkable.

Founded in 1939 as a companion to the company's first yearling sale, that sale brought in the princely sum of $20,000. Not average per head. Total! This year's sale features about 500 broodmares, stallion shares or breedings, racehorses and prospects, with the catalog running from HIP 1001, Sonofblacklick, a Captain Kirk weanling selling on Thursday, well before you read this, to HIP 1604 Victorianas Secret on Friday.

The featured attraction on Friday is, of course, HIP 1602 Beau Jangles, the 2025 Horse of the Year. With earnings over $1.6 million, he is the first reigning Horse of the Year to ever be offered at public auction. The sale is to dissolve a partnership among his owners - Graham Grace Stables, Kiwi Stables and Bolton Stables.

Jonathan Roberts of Kiwi Stables calls him a "commanding physical presence with charism and limitless ability who brought great joy to so many." All the partners agree that they are now looking forward to his next chapter and the anticipation of his producing stakes-winning colts and fillies in his image.

Bob Boni of Northwood Bloodstock is consigning Beau Jangles to the sale. He told me: "From my perspective his greatest value is as a stallion prospect. I can't lose sight of the remarkable season he had at 2. Two-year-olds don't win Horse of the Year. I don't believe any colt from his crop has come close to showing that level of talent.

"You can't fake brilliance. Maybe things didn't pan out quite as well at 3. In the right program, he should be an exceptionally-appealing stallion. He is a stunning individual."

Ironically, Beau Jangles' third dam Bunny Lake, who was Horse of the Year but not the reigning champ at the time, was sold by Boni at this very same mixed sale.

But Boni's outlook is not a guarantee he won't race at 4. That choice will be up to the buyer. Will one of the partners buy him back? Will he go to a breeding farm in search of a stallion with a brilliant pedigree? Or will he keep racing? And what price will he bring? I have heard estimates range up to $3 million. My gut says the son of Cattlewash will command right around a $2 million price, although several folks in the know think he could far exceed that. Nearly everyone agrees he will exceed the record $1.85 million paid for Amazing Catch, at the time a 3-year-old trotter, in 2024.

Bluegrass winner Yankee Boss (2,1:52) is also in the partners' consignment, selling as HIP 1601.

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You want a Breeders Crown champ who is still racing? HIP 1375 is Miss Jum Jabber, who won the 3-year-old filly title at Scioto Downs on October 24. The daughter of Bettor's Wish has earned just a shade under a million dollars and has a mark of 1:48. She can keep racing or she can be bred. Her maternal family is exceptionally strong. Her dam, Treacherous Reign, is a sub 1:49 pacer with over $800K in the bank, while her second dam Scandalous Hanover shows a beaten time of 1:47 4/5 and a career bankroll of over $360K.

The sale is held at the massive Pennsylvania Farm Show complex. How massive? I have been there twice and gotten lost a total of five times. Thank goodness for the food court, which I could use as a point of reference. But bring your GPS.

There is plenty to see at the sale. Not interested in one of the big names above but still want to make a splash? Just pick a different millionaire like Ari Ferrari J, a Walner son with $1.3 million earned. He is HIP 1505. Or perhaps HIP 1603 the 3-year-old Spencer Hanover. That son of Chapter Seven has earned $1,065,000.

Or maybe an almost millionaire like trotter Amazing Catch, HIP 1502. He is a 5-year-old Walner son with $958,000 on his card. Or HIP 1504 Celebrity Bambino, a Muscle Hill 6-year-old with earnings of $965,000, to name just a couple.

There are sires stakes champs, including Ohio's Seaside Shuffle (HIP 1377) and Brattitude (HIP 1384), who took the New Jersey Silver title (by the way, Miss Jum Jabber has two sires stakes titles - Pennsylvania and Kentucky - to go with her Breeders Crown win).

Looking for a young prospect? How about HIP 1467 Scorpion Seelster. Just 3, he has a mark of 1:51 2/5 and is a Bulldog Hanover half-brother to Stockade Seelster, a two-time O'Brien winner.

This sale literally has something for everyone, and I predict a price range from below $5,000 to $2,000,000. It's like being a kid in a candy shop - you should be able to find your price point somewhere in between the extremes. That's it for this time. Now go cash. Hopefully on a Black Book alum.