Officials optimistic for Northern California sale despite uncertain future

Tuesday’s Northern California yearling and horses of racing age sale in Pleasanton will be held at a troubling time for racing on the West Coast.

On July 16, 1/ST Racing announced that it will close the circuit’s leading track, Golden Gate Fields in Albany, Calif., in December in an effort to consolidate racing to the company’s Southern California track, Santa Anita, beginning in 2024.

A group of county fair officials have busily worked in the last month to develop an alternative racing schedule for 2024 that will allow the sport to continue in Northern California. On Wednesday, those officials are scheduled to speak at the California Horse Racing Board’s dates committee meeting to address a 2024 schedule.

The results of Tuesday’s sale, conducted by the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, will be a barometer of the enthusiasm owners have in investing in the sport amid a climate of widespread uncertainty.

The auction begins at noon Pacific on Tuesday at the Alameda County Fairgrounds with a catalog of 180 prospects, nearly all California-breds. In the past, many horses bought at the sale have raced in Northern California. That may still be the case in a reformed Northern California circuit in 2024.

“What I’m trying to do is instill confidence in the buyers and consignors that the market will be there given what is going on,” CTBA president Doug Burge said Thursday.

Burge said early feedback has been positive regarding credit applications and interest from owners and trainers in Southern California and out of state.

“This sale is shaping up better than you think,” he said. “We’re going into this very optimistic.”

The sale has a slightly larger catalog than the 151 offered in 2022, an auction that averaged $8,496 for yearlings and $3,533 for non-yearlings. The average price for yearlings decreased from $9,349 in 2021, although there were more runners sold and a higher gross in 2022.

The 2022 sale included Yo Yo Candy, a colt by Danzing Candy who sold for $6,000 and scored a 46-1 upset in the Grade 3 Sanford Stakes for 2-year-olds at Saratoga last month. Yo Yo Candy, who resold for $35,000 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales March 2-year-olds in training sale earlier this year, had not raced or worked since the Sanford as of Friday.

Last year at the 2022 Northern California sale, owner Robert Jones paid $50,000 for a colt by Sir Prancealot, the most expensive hip of the auction. Jones keeps horses with trainer Faith Taylor. They also bought Kristin Lee, a recent winner at Pleasanton, for $16,000 last year.

This year, Taylor said she has clients willing to invest at the sale, but said the uncertainty regarding the future has cast a pall on the circuit.

“With everything happening, there isn’t as much enthusiasm as usual,” she said. “I’ve got a couple of clients that are going. Whether they buy a whole lot or not remains to be seen.

“Maybe we can get a good deal. I don’t know what to think.”

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