Texas sale's final numbers fall

With a substantial portion of its buyer base in nearby Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi hurt by Hurricane Katrina, Fasig-Tipton's Texas summer yearling sale at Lone Star Park ended its two-day run Tuesday evening with declines across the board.

Topped by a $132,000 Lemon Drop Kid-Salsa Stacy colt that Jerry Durant bought, the auction saw more yearlings sell than last year, but gross receipts fell slightly. The 2005 auction sold 323 lots for $3,335,100, compared with 270 yearlings that brought $3,360,800 last season. The average price declined 17 percent, from last year's $12,447 to $10,325, and the median dropped 36 percent, from $7,000 to $4,500. The buy-back rate was 35 percent, compared with 26 percent in 2004.

Lane's End Texas, agent, sold the sale-topping colt on behalf of Ed Few and Stonerside Stable.