Vronsky colt heads Northern California sale
Led by a Vronsky colt purchased for $100,000, Tuesday’s Northern California yearling and horses of racing age sale in Pleasanton showed an increase in several key categories compared to the 2022 auction.
According to the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association, which conducted the sale, 115 yearlings sold for $1,064,900, an average of $9,260 and a median price of $5,500. There were 19 horses listed as not sold and 32 withdrawn.
In 2022, 105 yearlings sold for $871,100, an average of $8,296 and a median of $4,500.
Tuesday’s sale was held despite uncertainty over the 2024 racing calendar in that region of the state. Last month, 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 worked in recent weeks to develop an alternative racing schedule for 2024 that will allow the sport to continue in Northern California.
The Vronsky colt was purchased by the partnership of Phil Lebherz, Alan Klein, Rusty Brown, and Richard Meister and will be trained in Southern California by Brian Koriner.
On Monday, Koriner traveled from Del Mar to inspect yearlings, and said the Vronsky colt was a standout.
“He’s a good-boned colt,” Koriner said. “He’s a pretty nice horse. He was my favorite that I saw, colt-wise.”
The colt was consigned by Harris Farms, and is out of Back to the River, by Acclamation. Back to the River, winless in one start at Del Mar in 2020, is half-sister to the multiple stakes winner Lucky J.H, who earned $632,065.
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