Ocala sale up across the board

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company ended its winter mixed auction in Ocala, Fla., on Saturday with gains across the board.

The sale's two open sessions concluded Saturday with 383 horses sold for $2,206,600. That total was up sharply from last year, an effect that sale company officials anticipated when they expanded the open portion of the sale from one day to two. But the $5,716 average price and $3,800 median also rose in 2007, climbing by 7 percent and 41 percent, respectively. In last season's one-day open session, OBS sold 211 horses for $1,123,500 for a $5,325 average and a $2,700 median.

Including two consignor-preferred sessions last Wednesday and Thursday, the winter mixed auction sold 531 horses for $6,921,100, for a four-day average of $13,034. Last year, with three consignor-preferred sessions and a single open one, the auction sold a total of 744 horses for $10,557,900 for a $14,190 average.