New guide for buyers coming

The Consignors and Commercial Breeders Association will publish a booklet about purchasing yearlings at auction in time for the Keeneland September sale, the group's president said Wednesday.

Bayne Welker, who also heads stallion marketing and sales at Mill Ridge Farm in Kentucky, said the group is working on its latest informational booklet, called "Buying Sales Yearlings - Plain and Simple." It will, Welker said, use information from a number of sources, including the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. One focus of the booklet, which will be available Sept. 1, is "to dispel a few myths and point people in the proper direction," Welker said.

Among the topics the booklet will explore is whether older mares can produce good runners, Welker said, noting that in recent years there has been a bias against older mares' foals at yearling auctions.

The booklet will be available free at the association's website, www.consignorsandbreeders.com, and at major yearling sales, beginning with the Keeneland September sale that opens Sept. 10.