Tom Ventura, general manager of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company, is a conservative forecaster when it comes to predicting sales trends. But he has high hopes for the OBS fall mixed sale, which begins Monday.
"I think this sale is going to be a good sale, as good as last year and conceivably better," he said.
The Barretts October preferred yearling sale on Tuesday showed growth compared to last year, leaving organizers optimistic about further improvement in coming years.
Overall, 236 horses sold for $3,214,000, an average of $13,619. The gross was an improvement of 18 percent from last year, while the average grew 8 percent. The median grew by 19 percent, to $9,500.
The Tattersalls October yearling sale in Newmarket, England, continued its strong run Thursday at its third session. A $561,120 Giant's Causeway colt topped the day's proceedings on a final bid from Demi O'Byrne, the agent for John Magnier and Michael Tabor.
Magnier is head of Coolmore Stud, which stands the colt's sire, Giant's Causeway.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Buying a good racehorse is tough to do, but breeding one is even harder. One might compare breeding good racehorses to exploring for gold and diamonds, and in that regard, the game was a natural for Charles Fipke, whose homebred Perfect Soul came home a winner in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile at Keeneland on Oct. 4.
The Maryland breeding industry is getting a powerful push in 2004, thanks to a new stallion farm backed by a phalanx of investors, including Kentucky breeding powerhouse Lane's End.
The Maryland Stallion Station, which is set to stand five stallions for the 2004 season, is a dramatic development in one of the nation's oldest and most historic Thoroughbred breeding regions. And it will be built on land that is part of breeding history.
LEXINGTON, Ky. - William Schettine, who recently decided to withdraw almost 57 horses from the Keeneland November sale, has sold 37 broodmares privately to Eugene Melnyk.
The package includes Felicita, dam of Grade 1 winner Take Charge Lady, who added to her illustrious record last Sunday with her second consecutive win in Keeneland's Spinster Stakes. Felicita was among the mares Schettine initially planned to disperse at the November sale, citing a lack of time to manage his bloodstock operation.
The second day of the Tattersalls October yearling sale in Newmarket, England, on Wednesday produced a $1,743,000 session-topper.
Agent Demi O'Byrne signed for the top lot, a Diesis colt out of Irish Oaks runner-up Kitza, by Danehill. The price was a record for the October sale, which is conducted in two parts, the first of which ends Friday.
LAS VEGAS - Volponi was 43-1 when he won last year's Breeders' Cup Classic, and while he is winless in seven starts this year (with five seconds and two thirds), you can be sure that Hall of Fame trainer Phil Johnson will have him at his best for this year's Breeders' Cup Classic, which may be the final race of his career.
Volponi has finished in the money 24 times in 30 lifetime starts. While many have dismissed his chances for a repeat victory in the Classic, his chances are looking better with each passing week, with the defections of Mineshaft, Candy Ride, and Empire Maker.
Two major international stallion operations, Sheikh Mohammed's Darley and John Magnier's Coolmore Stud, have announced changes in fees for their major Kentucky stallions in 2004.
Coolmore's American branch, Ashford Stud, has slashed the $125,000 fees for Fusaichi Pegasus and Giant's Causeway in 2004. Fusaichi Pegasus will stand for $85,000, Giant's Causeway for $75,000.