Plenty of variety in Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December mixed and horses of racing age sale

A number of regional programs will be showcased as Tuesday’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December mixed and horses of racing age sale continues the North American mixed sale season.

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The Midlantic mixed sale, conducted at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, annually showcases horses bred or based in Maryland and Pennsylvania, offering prospects for the upcoming breeding season as well as racing prospects for the Mid-Atlantic circuit.

“There are tremendous ready to run opportunities at all levels for both regional and national racing stables,” Fasig-Tipton Midlantic director of sales Paget Bennett said.

This year’s renewal will also have more horses from the nearby New York-bred program than is typical. Fasig-Tipton had been scheduled to conduct a fall mixed sale in October in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. However, owing to New York State’s ongoing travel restrictions to combat the spread of COVID-19, that auction was canceled, because it would be virtually impossible for buyers and consignors from out of state to travel to conduct business. Some of the horses intended for that auction have been absorbed into the Midlantic sale.

Fasig-Tipton accepted supplemental entries to this sale, and the supplemental catalog includes several horses with recent stakes form. The group includes Fly On Angel, winner of the Grade 3 Charles Town Oaks in August, and Blue Gator, winner of the New York Breeders’ Futurity in October and second in the Notebook Stakes last month.

Even without the ongoing logistical difficulties and restraint in the marketplace caused by the pandemic, this year’s Fasig-Tipton Midlantic mixed sale would have had a tough act to follow. Last year’s renewal of this auction was bolstered by the dispersal of prominent regional owner Joseph Besecker, including top-priced Laddie Liam, who fetched a sale-record $450,000.

The Midlantic sale concluded with 249 horses sold for $4,383,700. The average price finished at $17,605, a gain of 85 percent from the 2018 figure, and the median spiked 60 percent, to $80,000. The buyback rate was 19 percent, compared to 22 percent the year prior.