LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Jockey Club projects that the 2004 registered Thoroughbred foal crop will reach 37,200, the organization announced Saturday.

That would be a slight increase from 2003's projected foal crop of 37,000 and suggests that the foal crop is stabilizing again after a decline in 2002 caused by mare reproductive loss syndrome. In 2002, the estimated national foal crop was 35,600, a number that reflected a drop of about 20 percent in Kentucky's annual foal population because of MRLS. The 2001 registered foal crop is estimated to be about 36,800.

LAS VEGAS - It's only the beginning of August, but some first-crop sires have already shown great promise. Leading all freshman sires is the European sire Fasliyev, who already had 20 juvenile winners by the end of July - a remarkable achievement. With 112 2-year-olds in his first crop, Fasliyev has the potential to sire more winners than any freshman sire in history.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Undefeated juvenile champion Vindication, who had been training in California for a possible return to the races, has been retired to stand at stud.

Vindication is expected to ship from California to John Sikura's Hill 'n' Dale Farm in Lexington on Monday. His stud fee hasn't yet been set.

Prices rose modestly at Monday's final session of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's Del Mar yearling sale, but not enough to lift the two-day sale after a poor opening session on Sunday.

Monday, 53 yearlings sold for $1,952,500, an average of $36,840. The average price was an increase of 3 percent over the corresponding session in 2002. Another 23 horses were listed as not sold, 31 percent of the yearlings who went through the ring. By comparison, Sunday's session averaged $31,162 and had a 44 percent buy-back rate.

The average price at Fasig-Tipton's two-day New York-bred yearling sale, which concluded on Monday evening in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., plummeted 16 percent from last year's figures.

This year's average price for the two days was $41,567, down from $49,495 in 2002. The median price fell from $35,000 to $32,000. The buy-back rate rose from 33 percent to 37 percent.

At the two sessions combined, 127 horses sold for a total of $5,279,000, down 1 percent from last year when 108 horses fell under the hammer for $5,345,500.

A daughter of the late New York sire Dixie Brass brought a final bid of $175,000 and topped the opening session of Fasig-Tipton's preferred sale of New York-bred yearlings Sunday evening in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

After two years of substantial growth, helped largely by interest in California-breds, prices fell substantially at Sunday's opening session of the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's Del Mar yearling sale.

Of the 64 yearlings offered, 36 sold for $1,133,000, an average of $31,472, down 34 percent from the corresponding session in 2002, which averaged $47,676. The median price declined from $40,000 in 2002 to $30,000 Sunday.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga select yearling sale ended Thursday night with substantial gains over last year's edition and strong selling at every level of the market.

The three-day auction's top seller was a $2.7 million colt from Unbridled's last crop. Satish and Anne Sanan's Padua Stables bought the colt from breeders Arthur Hancock III and Stonerside Stable.

DEL MAR, Calif. - At various times of the year, Julie Adair can be found working as a movie stuntwoman, buying or selling racing prospects, or breaking yearlings.

Each August, her schedule is dedicated to the Del Mar yearling sale, where she has successfully offered a small consignment in recent years.

In 2000, Adair sold a Distinctive Cat filly for $150,000, the highest-priced female at the sale. Named Distinctive Wish, the filly won twice at Turf Paradise before suffering a career-ending injury. She was later bred to Benchmark.

DEL MAR, Calif. - A catalog that many consignors perceive to be the sale's strongest in history may push the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's Del Mar yearling sale to record levels this week.

To be held Sunday and Monday at 7 p.m. at the Del Mar HorsePark, the sale will need to set records to surpass the average price of the past two years.