LEXINGTON, Ky. - Helped along by trainer Jim Bolger and free-spending Coolmore representative Demi O'Byrne, the Goffs auction house in Ireland showed that the yearling market there has some sizzle. But the downward trend in prices was in keeping with a global trend in 2008's yearling sales.

Monday's top price was 500,000 euros, or about $720,000, for a Galileo-Sateen colt that Bolger bought from Ballymoney Park Stud, agent. Ballymoney sold the colt, the last yearling to sell Monday, on behalf of the "S" Thoroughbred Syndicate.

The Racing Medication and Testing Consortium intends to develop a program to monitor the quality of U.S. drug-testing laboratories and participate in the development of a business plan for improving the country's drug-testing infrastructure, the consortium said Friday.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Walmac Farm in Lexington has purchased a half-interest in Southern Equine Stable’s two-time graded winner Salute the Sarge and will stand the horse in 2009.

Salute the Sarge is expected to make two starts, including one in the Grade 3 Kentucky Cup Sprint on Sept. 27, before retiring.

Tattersalls opened Ireland's fall yearling sale season Tuesday and Wednesday with its September yearling auction in County Meath.

The top price at the two-day sale was 80,000 euros, or about $117,600, for a Sahm-Sarina's Princess colt that Frank Barry and trainer Kevin Prendergast bought from The Castlebridge Consignment. The colt is the first foal for his dam, a Captain Bodgit mare, and initially sold for $15,000 at the Keeneland January mixed sale this year. Beech Tree Stable purchased him there.

One day after ending its record-sized September yearling sale, Keeneland announced Wednesday it has cataloged a record 5,709 horses to its next auction, the November mixed sale.

The auction will take place at Keeneland's sale pavilion in Lexington, Ky., from Nov. 3-17, with selling starting daily at 10 a.m.

Larry Jones plans to retire following the 2009 Breeders’ Cup after winding down his stable operation over the course of the next year, the trainer said on Wednesday.

Jones said that he made the decision because of the strains of running a racing operation of more than 100 horses. He also cited the public outcry that surrounded him after a filly he trained, Eight Belles, suffered fatal injuries following her second-place finish in the Kentucky Derby this year.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Keeneland's September yearling sale ended Tuesday with double-digit declines and a couple of take-home messages: It could have been worse, and, unless racing addresses long-term marketing issues and owner recruitment, these drops could be just the beginning for the United States yearling market.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Keeneland's September yearling sale entered the homestretch Monday still running well behind last year's auction with only one day left to go.

Monday's session, the 14th of 15 days, sold 211 yearlings for $1,585,700, down 40 percent. The session average of $7,515 was down 31 percent, and the median of $4,500 was off 36 percent.

Fasig-Tipton Midlantic has dropped its February mixed sale from the 2009 auction schedule for Timonium, Md. The auction house also has announced that it will renovate part of the sale facilities at Timonium before opening the 2009 season with its May juvenile sale.

"Over the past few years, our numbers indicate a preference from consignors for our mixed sale in early December, which has proved a popular regional and national venue," the company's Maryland sales director, Paget Bennett, said.

One day after coming off its steepest declines, the Keeneland September sale resumed selling Thursday with a $190,000 Tale of the Cat colt the late session leader.

WinStar Farm-affiliated Maverick Racing purchased the colt, a son of stakes-placed Dehere of the Dog, by Dehere, from Peter O'Callaghan's Woods Edge Farm, agent. The colt is a half-brother to multiple winner Dirty Water Dog.