Carlo De Thomasi wasn't looking for a racehorse when he claimed Close Up, an allowance-winning son of Capote, for $22,500 at The Meadowlands in October 2000.

"I saw his pedigree and figured he'd be a terrific sire for New Jersey," said De Thomasi.

A grandson of multiple Grade 1-winning millionaire mare Videogenic, Close Up was still 100 percent sound and "full of fire," according to De Thomasi.

But rather than risk the future of his then 4-year-old stud prospect, De Thomasi shipped him directly to his C & R Horse Farm in Milmay, N.J.

Freud's second crop of 2-year-olds is attracting as much interest as his first, which is saying a lot.

Topped by a $400,000 colt at the annual Ocala Breeders' Sales Company selected 2-year-olds in training sale on Feb. 7, three New York-bred juveniles by the state-based sire Freud grossed $595,000, for an average of $198,333.

Freud, an 8-year-old full brother to top international sire Giant's Causeway, stands at Lakland North in Hudson for a fee of $10,000.

Two of his juveniles at the corresponding 2005 sale brought $220,000 and $150,000.

Mahmoud Fustok, the owner of Buckram Oak Farm and such runners as 2005 Breeders' Cup Sprint winner Silver Train, died Wednesday in Florida after being struck by a vehicle in Pompano Beach. He was 70.

Fustok's racing manager, former trainer Mohammed Moubarak, confirmed the death Thursday and said that the family was suspending all Buckram Oak operations.

If the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's select 2-year-old sale at Calder on Tuesday is a bellwether for the rest of the juvenile auction season, sellers will have a fair chance to make a profit. Most buyers, though, will be hesitant to overspend.

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Co.'s select juvenile sale launched the select 2-year-old auction season Tuesday at Calder Race Course in Miami with prices that suggest the market for young racehorses could maintain its strength this year.

The single-session auction drew bids from major international buyers such as Sheikh Mohammed al-Maktoum's agent John Ferguson, who purchased the sale-topping $650,000 Forest Camp colt, and Coolmore interests represented by Demi O'Byrne.

LAS VEGAS - As usual, the 3-year-olds are getting all the headlines on their way to the Triple Crown, but the older male division this year is promising to be a corker.

Although Afleet Alex has been retired to stud, many of last year's 3-year-olds who make up the core of this year's older runners are returning, and some have already served notice that they will be a force at 4.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Horatius, sire of champion sprinter Safely Kept, has died at age 31 in Maryland.

The pensioned stallion died in his sleep in his paddock on Feb. 3 at Charles and Cynthia McGinnes's Thornmar in Chestertown, Md.

Horatius had been pensioned since 2001, when arthritis in his hips made him too unsteady to breed. The Proudest Roman horse spent his entire breeding career at Thornmar.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Recent outbreaks of equine herpesvirus at racetracks in Kentucky and Maryland have put Bluegrass farms on alert. With breeding season set to open the week of Feb. 15, the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club has warned breeders to take precautions against the disease, including vaccinating their horses.

Breeding season means farms will see a sharp increase in equine traffic, and that, breeders and farm managers fear, could help spread the disease.

The 2-year-olds in training auctions get underway Tuesday at Calder Race Course with one of four Florida sales hosted by the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company. Fasig-Tipton will conduct its annual 2-year-old auction, also at Calder Race Course, on Feb 28.

Sondra and Howard Bender, Maryland's leading breeders in 2001, '02, and '03, had an off season in 2005, with their stable of 20 homebreds landing "only" three stakes wins. But 2006 could be another banner year for the Benders, who so far this year have started eight horses and logged four wins, including a remarkable stakes-winning performance by the 4-year-old filly Promenade Girl.