A $100,000 broodmare was the top seller Thursday as the Keeneland November breeding stock sale wound toward its Nov. 17 conclusion in Lexington. But Thursday's 11th session ended with declines, following the auction's general trend since its Nov. 3 opening.

Maryland horsemen breathed a huge sigh of relief on Tuesday evening when Question 2 on the state's ballot, the constitutional amendment authorizing slot machines to fund education, as well as support the Maryland racing industry, passed. And it wasn't even close, with 59 percent of Marylanders voting for the amendment, which will allow a total of 15,000 video lottery terminals to be placed at five locations in the state.

The consensus of those operating the state's leading breeding farms is one of renewed hope.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - With the retirement of Big Brown to stud and his arrival in the Bluegrass this week, the bay son of Boundary has been the subject of considerable attention from breeders. Hundreds have turned out to view the stallion prospect at Three Chimneys Farm, where he will stand in 2009 for a stud fee of $65,000 live foal.

Farm owner Robert Clay said the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner "has two great selling points: one is his brilliance on the racetrack, and the second is that he's absolutely magnificent to look at. Breeders are bowled over when they see him."

Two years after Rebecca Shields sold the sale-topper at the California October yearling sale at Barretts, her enthusiasm for breeding Thoroughbreds in California has dimmed.

After a series of discouraging sales in the last year, brought on by a poor breeding market and economy, Shields and her husband Craig are selling off some of their bloodstock. They offered 18 broodmares and weanlings last month at the Barretts October mixed sale and are offering their prized broodmare Charming Gal at Keeneland's November breeding stock sale on Thursday.

This year's 2-year-olds look like one of the deepest Empire State crops in years.

As of this weekend, eight New York-breds had won or placed in graded stakes, while two more had won open stakes worth $100,000 or more. Four of these are by state sires Read the Footnotes, Artax, or Freud.

"The stallion scene in New York is changing," said Jeffrey Cannizzo, executive director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders Inc. "New York's foal crop year after year is improving in quality, not just quantity. The graded and open company wins in 2008 speak for themselves."

Harry T. Mangurian Jr., who died last month at 82 following a long illness, is assured of his place in Florida’s Thoroughbred pantheon.

In brief:

w He served numerous times on the board of directors of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association.

w He was the first chairman of the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company.

w He sat on the board of Calder Race Course.

w He was a multiple Eclipse Award recipient.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The market for mares and weanlings sold at auction continued to show signs of weakness on Wednesday as buyers at Keeneland's November breeding stock sale failed to meet consignors' expectations for their horses. All major sales figures for the session were down compared to last year, confirming that the sales market has begun a major correction under the strains and uncertainty of the deteriorating U.S. economy.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A mother-daughter pair that sold back-to-back on Wednesday afternoon at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale provided a bit of excitement during an otherwise pedestrian session.

The mother, My White Corvette, sold for $825,000 just after her weanling daughter, a half-sister to Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Stardom Bound, sold for $350,000. The $825,000 for White Corvette was the session-topping price for a mare halfway through the Wednesday session, and the $350,000 for her weanling was the session-topping price for a weanling.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Ahmed Zayat's Grade 2 winner Mushka proved Tuesday that race-ready horses with proven talent are hot commodities in today's Thoroughbred marketplace, where buyers are looking for a sure thing in uncertain economic times. The 3-year-old Empire Maker filly brought a session-topping $2.4 million bid from Betty Moran's Brushwood Stable at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale, one day after the auction's opening session posted sharp double-digit drops.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Kentucky stud farms continue generally to hold the line on stud fees for 2009 as breeders endure a falling economy. The latest to announce fees this week were Lane's End and Stonewall Stallions, which both left fees for their flagship stallions untouched from 2008 levels.