Revamped March sale to kick off 2015 OBS juvenile sale season

Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. will aim to follow up on the success of its recently-completed 2-year-old sale season in 2015, with a new schedule that includes an expansion of the March sale of 2-year-olds in training.

The March sale will be the first of three juvenile auctions at the Central Florida auction venue and training center. The sale will expand from its usual two-day schedule to three days of selling, from March 17-19, with the pre-sale under-tack shows being held March 11-13.

The 2015 March sale will drop its “selected” format for the expansion and will feature a more open format for entries, making the sale available to both the select-quality juveniles, as well as the next tier of horses that have advanced through their early training and are ready to be sold in March.

“The evolution of the juvenile market is telling us that buyers prefer a larger and more varied sample than they have in the past,” said OBS sales director Tod Wojciechowski. “We plan to monitor our entries so as to blend our usual March sale offerings with an additional group of precocious, athletic horses. The result of the past few sales seasons proves that buyers are responding to the quality as well as quantity of the offerings, not the date and title on the catalog cover.”

The OBS April 2-year-olds in training sale will be held over four days, from April 21-24. There will be six under-tack sessions, to be held April 13-18.

Closing the season will be the OBS June sale of 2-year-olds and horses of racing age, to be held over four sessions June 16-19. The under-tack show will span six days, from June 8-13.

“Both consignors and buyers were pleased with the extended under tack shows we began in June,’ said OBS board chairman Mike O’Farrell. “Shorter sessions allow for flexibility to react to inclement weather, and level the playing field for consignors.”