Louisiana juvenile sale set for Tuesday

The Equine Sales Co. of Louisiana 2-year-olds in training sale comes into its third renewal with its biggest catalog yet and a new spot on the auction calendar.

The sale will take place Tuesday in Opelousas, La., beginning at 11 a.m. Central. The Copper Crowne Training Center will host the presale under-tack show Sunday at 10 a.m.

“I feel like we have a nice offering,” said sales director Foster Bridewell. “Many of these horses should be ready to go right to the track and participate in the 2-year-old races here at Evangeline Downs. I’ve seen many of them on the racetrack prepping, and they look like they’re well-prepared and ready to go to take advantage of the lucrative purses in Louisiana.”

This year’s renewal features 101 juveniles and horses of racing age, up 15 percent from last year’s 88-horse sale, which was held in April.

Bridewell said the move puts the sale in a more convenient window between the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. April and Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sales of 2-year-olds in training and allows sellers from the populous OBS April sale another place to send horses who failed to meet their reserves. He also noted that the new slot fits well on the Evangeline racing calendar.

“Our 2015 grads are eligible for the [$75,000] Equine Sales Oaks, which will run on May 6, and then you’ve got the [$75,000] Equine Sales Derby, which is the following day,” Bridewell said, “We wanted to try to have our sale in conjunction with those races and try to make a weekend of it.”

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Graduates of this year’s 2-year-old sale, along with alumni of Equine Sales Co.’s 2015 yearling auctions, will be eligible for next year’s Equine Sales Co. Derby and Oaks at Evangeline, with each division at 1 1/16 miles for a $75,000 purse.

Last year’s auction saw 54 horses sold for $720,700, up 8 percent from the inaugural edition, where 50 horses brought $668,500. The average sale price declined 0.1 percent, from $13,370 to $13,346, while the buyback rate fell from 32 percent to 28 percent.

A Gold Tribute colt named Cale’s Gold topped the sale, going to Jerome Namy for $65,000. Cale’s Gold won two of five starts last year, including a win in the D.S. Shine Young Futurity at Evangeline Downs.

To view the online catalog, click here.