TIMONIUM, Md. – The list of recent graduates of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-year-olds in training sale reads like a who’s who of major events – and one doesn’t have to look far to find a classic winner. “If you look at the catalog this year, the cover horse is Mage,” Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said. “If that doesn’t inspire confidence, if that doesn’t make you feel confident to go buy a horse that performs well on the racetrack, I don’t know what would.” Buyers have 585 cataloged 2-year-olds to pore through at the the May 20-21 sale in search of their own Mage, who sold for $290,000 at the 2022 edition before going on to win the 2023 Kentucky Derby. Other graduates in the past five editions include Eclipse Award champion Gamine ($1.8 million, 2019), whose five Grade 1 wins included the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and Grade 1 winners Beyond Brilliant ($200,000, 2020) and Faiza ($725,000, 2022). According to Fasig-Tipton’s records, graduates of this sale won 29 graded/group stakes races from 2022 through the first four months of 2024, including a Group 1 victory by Switzerland ($500,000, 2016) in the Dubai Golden Shaheen. The sale is coming off a strong edition last year as 373 juveniles changed hands for $34,751,500 – second highest in sale history behind the $37,297,700 for 291 sold in 2022. The average was $93,168, third highest in sale history behind the 2022 record of $95,391 and $94,391 in 2021. The median was $50,000, tied for a sale record with 2021. The buyback rate was just 15 percent, second lowest in sale history behind the record 13 percent set in 2010. Coming into this year’s edition, sale officials and consignors are pragmatic about what has been a selective marketplace. “The trend’s been a little tougher for this season,” said Randy Hartley, half of Hartley/DeRenzo Thoroughbreds, noted for its pinhook success. “It’s like we bought in one market and we’re selling in another by the way things turned out. But the top end’s been good, and we’ve always tried to stick to more of the top end. “I tell people all the time, it’s the riskiest market, but it’s the safest market.” The Midlantic sale, held within a short distance of several rich regional programs, is typically well supported by its home state of Maryland, which Hartley said helps the middle and lower marketplaces. “The Maryland people kind of support some of the horses people need to move for $20,000 to 50s or 60s,” Hartley said. “They’re good in that market.” :: Get the Inside Track with the FREE DRF Morning Line Email Newsletter. Subscribe now.  Browning is hoping for a market boost from international participants. Japanese bidders have been active at the first two 2-year-old sales of this season, conducted by the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company. Middle Eastern buyers also tend to shop the Midlantic sale; 2023 U.A.E. Oaks winner Mimi Kakushi and 2024 U.A.E. 2000 Guineas winner Mendelssohn Bay are graduates of this sale. “I think we’ve seen throughout recent sales years, there’s a certain level of selectivity in the marketplace,” Browning said. “The demand at the top end will be very strong, and the demand in the middle will be a little bit less than what we would all hope for. I think there is going to be some international participation at this sale, which should hopefully absorb some of those horses.” Sales officials and consignors added that they feel buyers have an additional level of confidence at the Midlantic sale, as juveniles breeze over the dirt racetrack at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium. The three-session breeze show for this sale was taking place May 14, 16, and 17, with wet weather in the area pushing the final two sessions back by a day each. Standing atop the leaderboard as of Thursday evening were a Street Boss colt and a Vekoma colt who, with a tailwind whipping through the stretch, each zipped a furlong in 9 4/5 seconds on Thursday. Sub-10-second times are rare, and are typically rewarded, on the Timonium track. In 2022, a Bernardini colt led the breeze show by going 9 4/5 seconds, becoming the first horse since 2012 to shade 10 seconds. Hejazi, who is multiple Grade 1-placed, sold for a sale-record $3.55 million, smashing Gamine’s then-record $1.8 million. The Street Boss colt, first to work the fast time and from the consignment of Longoria Training and Sales, is out of the winning Sky Mesa mare Snow Mesa, who is from the family of graded stakes winner Fort Prado and Grade 1-placed stakes winner Red Vine. “It’s very difficult here,” consignor Jessie Longoria said of the time. “So for him to come out here and do that, it’s unbelievable.” Late in the day, a colt from the first crop of Vekoma – who recently recorded his first winner – proved how fast the track was playing when he matched that rare 9 4/5 time. The Florida-bred colt, consigned by Ciaran Dunne’s Wavertree, as agent, is out of the unraced Wildcat Heir mare Scion Power, whose first foal is a winner. Scion Power is a full sister to graded stakes winner Derwin’s Star. The Vekoma colt is an example of how young horses can change and develop through the season, requiring consignors to be flexible in finding the best spot to showcase their stock. The colt was entered in the OBS March sale, the first auction of this season. He breezed a furlong in 10 seconds flat on the all-weather surface, behind a logjam of 50 youngsters who shaded 10 seconds. He was ultimately withdrawn from the sale, and now has showcased himself on dirt. “The sales [in Florida] are a little different, because it’s a lot of horses, and a lot of horses go fast,” Hartley said. “When you come here and you get on the dirt, they separate themselves.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.