Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s winter mixed sale one of last opportunities to stock up on broodmares

The mixed sale season moves toward its conclusion with next week’s Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s winter mixed sale, which looks to improve on its mixed results from the 2019 edition.

A total of 647 broodmares and prospects, yearlings, and horses of racing age are cataloged for this year’s renewal, including supplemental entries. The sale begins with a session designated as consignor-select and horses of racing age on Tuesday before concluding on Wednesday with an open session. An optional under-tack preview show will be held for horses of racing age on Monday on the Ocala Training Center’s all-weather Safetrack surface.

Last year’s two-day auction finished with 399 horses sold for total gross receipts of $4,497,900, a decline of 25 percent in revenues compared with 409 horses bringing $5,969,600 in the 2018 edition. The average was $11,273, down 23 percent from $14,596 in 2018. However, the median price was unchanged, at $6,000. The buyback percentage improved to 19 percent from 25 percent. Both of those are economic indicators of a solid middle market, while averages and overall revenues may be driven by the top of the buying bench. That was borne out by last year’s softer results at the top of the market, with only one horse selling for more than $150,000, compared to four to pass that threshold in 2018.

The OBS winter mixed sale is the penultimate major-market auction of the mixed sale season, which began in November. This sale and the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed sale on Feb. 10 and 11 represent the final chances to buy broodmares prior to North American breeding sheds opening in early to mid-February.

Several of Florida’s perennial leading sires are represented by mares in foal at the auction as buyers look to fill out their broodmare bands. Those include seven mares in foal to Adios Charlie, the state’s leading general sire of 2019, and three in foal to First Dude, the state’s leading general sire in 2018 when he was represented by Eclipse Award champion Shamrock Rose.

The auction also offers a chance to buy mares in foal to standout young sires in the Florida market. Khozan led Florida’s freshman and juvenile sire lists and ranked in the top 10 nationally in a powerhouse freshman class last season. He is represented by eight mares in foal at OBS January, while The Big Beast, who was also in the top 20 on the national freshman list, has seven.

Girvin was Florida’s busiest stallion in his first season at stud. His 149 mares covered, according to The Jockey Club’s Report of Mares Bred, also made him the busiest stallion outside of Kentucky. Also ranking on that list was Bucchero, who covered 130 mares in his first season. From those books of mares, the young stallions have nine and seven mares, respectively, cataloged to sell before a local audience.

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