Don Dean is a spiritual man who has interwoven a passion for horse racing with a cause for helping others. So it wasn't surprising that Dean, the former president of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America, was attending the Race Track Chaplaincy's annual meeting in Houston, Tex., on the day of his biggest score as a breeder.
LAS VEGAS - The Flamingo Stakes and Florida Derby were two of the most important prep races for the Triple Crown for the last 50 years, but the demise of the once-exquisite Hialeah Park made the Flamingo a footnote in racing's history.
With Gulfstream Park emerging as Florida's premier racing facility, the Florida Derby was the track's centerpiece and its date on the calendar, around mid-March - seven or eight weeks from the Derby - made it the first major prep race at 1 1/8 miles.
Four juveniles by New York sire Prime Timber averaged $103,750 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s select 2-year-old sale last Tuesday and Wednesday.
The figure is nearly 30 times the stud fee of $3,500 for Prime Timber, a son of Sultry Song who stands at Sez Who Thoroughbreds North in Stillwater, N.Y.
In 2005, Prime Timber's 42 juveniles sold at auction averaged $43,702.
It was a vintage week for Florida's Thoroughbred community. The Ocala 2-year-old sales market produced records at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. sale, while the Adena Springs auction was "satisfying," according to the farm's owner, Frank Stronach.
The Florida Thoroughbred Charities gala and auction hosted by Charlotte Weber at her Live Oak Stud raised more than $110,000. At the Adena Springs sale, a $20-per-head buffet and cash bar raised an additional $20,000-plus for charity.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - With his victory in the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, A. P. Warrior took a significant step in justifying his seven-figure auction price and the great expectations associated with his past performances, which included a second to Brother Derek in the Norfolk Stakes last fall.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - The record-breaking March select juvenile sale at Ocala Breeders' Sales Co. in Ocala, Fla., last Tuesday and Wednesday gave another boost to an auction that has been on the upswing over the last decade.
The sale's 2006 edition set an all-time price record for an OBS auction when a Belong to Me-Vassar colt consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree agency drew a $1.8 million bid from agent Buzz Chace. That broke a record that had stood since 1982, when K D Princess sold in foal to Timeless Moment for $1.725 million at the OBS fall mixed sale.
The rich get richer among horses that compete in the Maryland Horse Breeders Association Yearling Show.
Every year, the eight top-earning 2- and 3-year-olds who participated in the show (which is exclusively for Maryland-breds) divide a total of $40,000 in premiums.
A $1.8 million Belong to Me colt and a $1 million Indian Charlie filly set records for top prices at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s March select juvenile sale Wednesday in Ocala, Fla.
The seven-figure lots also helped lift the OBS March sale's overall numbers. The two-day sale ended Wednesday with 286 juveniles sold for a total of $31,044,000, well up from last year's $26,399,000 for 323 lots. Average price also climbed sharply, rising 33 percent to $108,545.
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.