Tom Ventura, general manager of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, was, as they say on the Street, bullish in advance of the company's annual fall mixed sale, Oct. 11 through 14. He thought all the signs were in place to produce a strong sale, and so they proved to be.

"Our August yearling sale was strong, the Keeneland fall yearling sales were strong, and I felt that this would carry over to our fall mixed sale," said Ventura.

While all categories reflected a healthy market, the weanlings were especially prized.

The 19th annual Maryland Million Day, Oct. 9 at Pimlico, was a blend of old guard and new.

The first of the 12 races brought nostalgia, as Drum Roll Please, a 4-year-old son of 1983 Preakness winner Deputed Testamony, cruised to a three-length victory in the Sprint Starter Handicap. The first stakes winner for his owner, Richard Shannon, Drum Roll Please recorded the 11th Maryland Million win for the 24-year-old Deputed Testamony, giving the recently pensioned Bonita Farm stallion sole possession of second place on the Maryland Million's leading sire rankings.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Brownell Alexander is an exercise rider, but her job is quite different from that of her peers at the racetrack. Alexander, 49, works at one of the nation's premier farms, Gainsborough Stud in Lexington, Ky., where she does something many horsemen wouldn't dare to do: She rides stallions, including 2004's leading general sire, Elusive Quality.

ARCADIA, Calif. - It was only after His Legacy and Griswold became the only residents of a 10-acre paddock at Legacy Ranch in Chino, Calif., that farm manager Shaun Hadley realized he had a problem.

The two retired California-breds made the paddock their territory, and were not too keen on visitors.

"If I put another gelding in there, they would just whip on him," Hadley said. "They wouldn't let him eat or anything."

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's fall mixed auction ended its four-day run Thursday with gains across the board.

Topped by a $120,000 Tale of the Cat weanling colt, the auction in Ocala, Fla., sold 708 horses for $10,521,800, up dramatically from last year's aggregate of $6,966,400 for 731 lots. The average price rose accordingly, increasing 56 percent to $14,861 this year.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Usually when someone offers a money-back guarantee, it's not worth bothering to get the item to begin with. It's the staple of late-night television hucksters. Chia pets. Ginsu knives. The Clapper. That sort of stuff.

Here was Tom Stull's offer: I guarantee my stallion Old Topper will be the leading freshman sire of 2-year-olds in the state. Now how much would you pay? Don't answer! Because if he's not, you get your money back.

"I decided to put my money where my mouth is," Stull said. "I wanted to show I was committed to the horse."

Three Chimneys stallion Wild Again, winner of the inaugural Breeders' Cup Classic in 1984, has been pensioned because of declining fertility. He is 24.

A son of Icecapade and the stakes-winning Khaled mare Bushel-n-Peck, Wild Again is the sire of 84 stakes winners and four champions to date. He was among the nation's leading sires by earnings in 1997 and again in 2002.

In addition to winning the Classic at Hollywood Park, Wild Again won the Meadowlands Cup, New Orleans Handicap, and Oaklawn Handicap (the last in track-record time of 1:46.80 for 1 1/8 miles) in 1984.

Cloverleaf Farms II near Ocala, Fla., will add two stallions - 1997 Horse of the Year Favorite Trick and Grade 3 winner Alke - to its roster in 2005.

Cloverleaf's general manager, Brent Fernung, confirmed the additions. Favorite Trick will relocate from Walmac International in Lexington, Ky., but he will remain the property of a syndicate whose princpal shareholder is Joseph LaCombe. Cloverleaf has purchased Alke.

Neither horse's fee has been set. Favorite Trick stood in 2004 for $7,500, and Alke will be entering stud in 2005.

LAS VEGAS - Last weekend, Proud Accolade won the Champagne Stakes and Consolidator won the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity Stakes, the two final major prep races for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, now only two weeks from Saturday.

Undefeated in three starts, Proud Accolade will be one of the favorites for the Juvenile.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Longtime Gainesway stallion Lear Fan, sire of such champions as Windsharp and Ryafan, has been pensioned from stud duty at age 23. The Roberto horse's fertility had declined, prompting his retirement.

"Lear Fan has been a source of pride for Gainesway," farm president Antony Beck said. "He had an outstanding career as both a racehorse and sire, and we have been honored to have him at the farm."