Ocala sale ends with gains

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's fall mixed auction ended its four-day run Thursday with gains across the board.

Topped by a $120,000 Tale of the Cat weanling colt, the auction in Ocala, Fla., sold 708 horses for $10,521,800, up dramatically from last year's aggregate of $6,966,400 for 731 lots. The average price rose accordingly, increasing 56 percent to $14,861 this year.

The sale opened with two consignor-preferred sessions that grossed $8,730,000 for 424 lots, producing an average price of $20,590 and a $15,000 median. Last year's two consignor-preferred sessions sold 307 horses for $5,130,000 for a $16,710 average and a $10,000 median. Buy-backs declined this year from 27 percent to 26 percent.

The 2004 open sessions sold 269 horses for $1,665,900 for an average of $6,193 and a $3,700 median, compared with last year, when 388 brought in total revenue of $1,701,300, an average price of $4,385, and a $2,700 median. But buy-backs rose from 20 percent to 24 percent this year.

The sale-topping Tale of the Cat weanling went to Sabine Stable. Francis and Barbara Vanlangendonck's Summerfield Farm sold the colt, a son of the Go for Gin mare Delirium.