Wet Maryland weather alters Fasig-Tipton's 2-year-olds in training sale

TIMONIUM, Md. – The pre-sale proceedings for the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale got underway Wednesday at the Maryland State Fairgounds, with horsemen contending with wet weather that has altered schedules for this week.

The under-tack preview show, which was scheduled to run from Tuesday through Thursday – prior to the Friday and Saturday stakes cards at nearby Pimlico – was pushed back by one day due to Tuesday’s heavy rain. The breeze show is now running over three days, from Wednesday through Friday. As a result, Monday’s opening session of the two-day sale has been pushed back to 1 p.m. to allow additional time for inspection of horses, especially since many horsemen will be at the races during the final breeze session Friday. The second and final session of the Midlantic sale will begin at 11 a.m. on Tuesday.

On Wednesday – on a sloppy, sealed track at the only dedicated 2-year-old sale in North America on dirt – more than 150 horses turned in timed works or open gallops. Seven shared the fastest furlong time at 10 1/5 seconds to set the bar for the rest of the week.

“We've been here 35 years, and we know this racetrack and how they take care of it,” said Dean DeRenzo, half of the Hartley-DeRenzo Thoroughbreds team, which sent out a colt from exciting first-crop sire Maxfield in the bullet-working group. “So we’re confident when they say, ‘OK, we’ve got a safe track, we’re gonna go.’ I had no doubts. After 35 years, I think they’ve proven themselves to us. And I know that Boyd [Browning Jr., president and CEO], who runs this company, would never, ever chance hurting any horses at all.

"I think they do a phenomenal job trying to keep it safe, and these track guys know the track, know the surface, what they have to do with it. They worked hard trying to squeeze some of that water off and keep it well, and we watched them do it all night and at 4 o’clock in the morning.”

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The group that set the bar for this under-tack show worked in very respectable times in light of the conditions. Sub-10-second times are rare on the Timonium track. Since 2013, only three horses have breezed in 9 4/5 seconds, and working just a tick over 10 seconds in less-than-perfect conditions is creditable. Along with the Maxfield colt and a colt by fellow first-crop Kentucky sire Yaupon, those sharing the best time were colts by Engage, Galilean, and Tiz the Law, and fillies by Blame and Classic Empire.

“I don’t think there’s anyone here who, given their druthers, would want to work on it, but it is what it is,” said Ciaran Dunne, whose Wavertree Stables consigns the Galilean and Tiz the Law colts. “When they say they want a dirt track, this is what they get when it rains.”

Continued rain and cloudy conditions are expected through the night and into Thursday morning in Baltimore. Although the chances for precipitation begin dropping after that, there is a chance of scattered storms Friday morning. That means the track will likely remain wet for the remainder of the breeze show, which, while less than ideal, still creates a level playing field.

“The biggest thing with these breeze shows is to have a uniform, fair track throughout the breeze show,” consignor Jesse Hoppel said.

For hip-by-hip results from the breeze show, click here.

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