Lane's End returns to July sale

Will Farish's Lane's End consignment will return to the Keeneland July sale in 2002 after a two-year absence, Keeneland announced Wednesday.

Farish's son Bill said that Lane's End made its decision based on its current crop of sale yearlings and its assessment of the market. He said that the farm would offer a consignment of early foaled, mature yearlings.

"There is definitely a type of horse that we think works at the July sale, and those are the ones we'll target for it," he said.

Farish added that Lane's End also will have a September consignment.

Will Farish opted to pull his consignment - perennially a leading seller at the July sale - from the prestigious summer auction in 2000. Instead, he placed most of his consignment's yearlings in the Keeneland September sale. The defection caused speculation among consignors and buyers about the July sale's future, but the 2000 auction posted a then-record average of $621,025. Last year, it improved on that with a new record, as the average price rose 14 percent to $710,247.