Looking ahead on the revamped juvenile sales calendar

Following the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s spring sale on June 9-12, there are two more major-market venues specifically dedicated to selling 2-year-olds this season, with two additional opportunities for juveniles to be included among horses of racing age.

Keeneland select horses of all ages sale
June 23, digital

Keeneland, which cancelled its April sale of 2-year-olds in training sale along with its popular spring race meeting, will hold a new select horses of all ages sale as part of the launch of its digital auction platform, which the company is calling the Digital Sales Ring.

Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale of 2-year-olds in training
June 29-30, Timonium, Md.
(Under-tack preview show June 24-26)
This sale has grown in numbers and popularity in recent years, evolving beyond a solid regional sale into a marketplace that has produced seven-figure horses in five consecutive years. Last year, the sale-record $1.8 million filly Gamine helped the auction finish with record gross and average figures. This year, the sale could get added luster as juveniles intended for other boutique auctions, such as the canceled Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream sale, are rerouted here.

Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. July sale of 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing age
July 14-17, Ocala, Fla.
(Under-tack preview show July 6-11)
Traditionally held in late June but postponed this year, this auction typically caps off the juvenile auction season, providing an option on the calendar for late bloomers, juveniles who were forced to scratch from other auctions for various reasons, and those who failed to meet their reserve at an earlier venue. That will become even more important this year. The sale also offers a selection of active racehorses.

Fasig-Tipton Kentucky selected horses of racing age
July 13, Lexington, Ky.
This sale, which was first held in 2013 as a companion to Fasig-Tipton’s Kentucky July yearling sale, has grown by leaps and bounds, eventually necessitating its own day on the calendar. With the yearling sale absorbed into a new September auction as a result of the disrupted calendar, the horses of racing age session stands on its own – and could provide one more venue for juveniles to be sold.