One day after the auction house hosted its annual racing day in Ocala, Fla., the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. made a strong start at its 2-year-old sale Tuesday, with a $475,000 Deputy Commander colt the top lot on a final bid from Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum's Darley Stable.

Niall Brennan Stables, agent, sold the colt. Offered as Hip No. 241, the bay colt is out of Regrets Only, a Black Tie Affair mare who also has produced the Grade 3-placed Commander's Affair. That runner is a full brother to the session-topper.

LAS VEGAS - Of all the 3-year-olds that ran in last weekend's four Kentucky Derby preps in New York, Arkansas, Southern California, and Florida, the San Felipe runners may have provided the best clues to this year's Derby because the first three finishers are all bred to relish longer distances.

Under the care of new trainer John Shirreffs, A. P. Warrior, a son of A.P. Indy, returned to the good form he showed at 2, winning the San Felipe in a thriller over Point Determined (Point Given) and Bob and John (Seeking the Gold).

The sixth annual Adena Springs sale of 2 year-olds in training, held Monday at the Adena Thoroughbred center near Ocala, Fla., had declined in both average and median prices from the 2005 edition of the sale.

This year, 65 homebreds sold for an average price of $67,646, a decline of more than 20 percent. The median price this year of $45,000 was down 25 percent from 2005. The buy-back rate was around 37 percent.

"Last year's numbers were pretty lofty," said Mark Roberts, general manager of Adena Springs. "But I think we did well, and we're still building a buyer base."

Secrettame, dam of the successful racehorse and sire Gone West, died Friday after colicking. She was 28.

Secrettame colicked Friday morning and was sent to the Rood and Riddle clinic in Lexington, Ky., where she died.

Bred by the late equine surgeon Dr. William O. Reed and campaigned by his wife, Audrey, Secrettame was a Grade 2-placed stakes winner. She won 6 of her 10 starts and finished second once, in the 1981 Gazelle, then a Grade 2. Her stakes victory came in the second division of the 1983 Shirley Jones Handicap at Gulfstream. Bruce Johnstone trained her.

The newly amended lawsuit brought by Jess Jackson, which accuses several bloodstock agents and a farm owner of defrauding him in numerous Thoroughbred purchases, has raised a debate over the practice of some sellers to make payments to buyers' representatives.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Victory in the Santa Anita Oaks was the second Grade 1 success for Balance, a promising 3-year-old filly who is a daughter of Kentucky Derby winner Thunder Gulch and the Kris S. mare Vertigineux. The win makes her the filly to beat in the Grade 1 Kentucky Oaks on the first Friday in May.

On the basis of her current form, Balance is the best daughter of Thunder Gulch since Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Spain, but as similar as they are in talent, the two could hardly be more different in physique.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Barretts select juvenile sale on March 14 was missing one of its big supporters this year, but the auction's upper market seemed to hold up well nonetheless. That's partly because the sale offered variety and attracted buyers from market levels below the $1 million mark.

This Tuesday is the 30th anniversary of the first Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. 2-year-olds in training sale at its Ocala venue. This year, 268 2-year-olds are cataloged to sell; the sale concludes on Wednesday. Thirty years ago, the inaugural Ocala sale recorded 187 2-year-olds sold for gross receipts of just over $2.5 million and an average price of $13,376.

Prime Timber, New York's leading freshman sire in 2005, has four New York-breds cataloged in the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. selected 2-year-olds in training sale on March 21-22.

With his stakes-winning juvenile filly Cinderella's Dream leading the way, his progeny earned $422,519 last year.

Cinderella's Dream, a candidate for state champion in her division, won the Maid of the Mist and placed in the Grade 2 Demoiselle Stakes.

Prime Timber's New York-bred group consists of three colts and a filly.

The Maryland Horse Breeders Association has announced that Tom and Chris Bowman, Cherokee Wonder, and Louis Quatorze have been selected by the board of directors as the 2005 breeder, broodmare, and stallion of the year, respectively. The awards will be presented at the MHBA's annual awards dinner on April 21 at St. Patrick's Hall in Havre de Grace, Md. The 2005 Maryland-bred champions and Federico Tesio Award winners will also be honored that evening.