New York-bred weanlings dominate Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall sale

The New York-bred program, with statebred runners finding success at the highest levels of racing worldwide, has resulted in the Fasig-Tipton New York-bred yearling sale posting record renewals several years in a row. Those looking to get a jump on that vibrant market will have an opportunity to do so at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga fall mixed sale on Monday as the majority of the catalog is made up of New York-bred weanlings.

There are 226 horses cataloged for the single-session sale, which takes place at Fasig-Tipton’s Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion adjacent to Saratoga Race Course. Of those, 170 are weanlings, all foaled in New York.

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Effinex was among the New York-breds who carried the banner nationwide in recent years, and 13 weanlings from his only crop are on offer at Fasig-Tipton. Effinex won five graded stakes, including the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill Downs, finished second to Triple Crown winner American Pharoah in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, and earned more than $3.3 million. He retired to stud in his home state, but stood only one season before dying in his stall of a pulmonary aneurysm.

The catalog also includes seven weanlings by New York’s perennial leading sire Freud, including a half-brother to multiple stakes winner Twisted Tom.

Last year’s Saratoga fall mixed sale finished with 144 horses sold for gross receipts of $3,265,000, resulting in an average price of $22,674, a spike of 34 percent from the 2016 edition of the sale. The median of $12,000 was a gain of 41 percent.