NEWS
Select session kicks off OBS August yearling sale
Posted: Monday, August 23, 2010 3:05 PM
by Cynthia McFarland
Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. officials believe the horses cataloged for Tuesday’s select session of the OBS August yearling sale are an improvement compared with last year’s group.
OBS has cataloged 901 yearlings for the three-day sale, which gets underway Tuesday at 1 p.m. EDT. The first session features 200 selected yearlings, while days two and three are open sessions.
“We made a significant effort to bring horses to the sale, not only locally but also from out of state. I think the buyers will be pleased. We have some sire power,” said Tom Ventura, OBS general manager and director of sales. “In addition to Florida sires, we have a pretty strong contingent of sires from Kentucky and certainly some brand-name stallions. Sires with first crops at the races have gotten off to a good start and are well represented in the select session. We’re very pleased with the select-sale horses. I think we have a better group of horses this year than last and a good representation.”
Originally scheduled to start Monday, both the sale and the start time of the first session have been pushed back to accommodate buyers. The open sessions on Wednesday and Thursday begin at 10:30 a.m. EDT. The 1 p.m. starting time for Tuesday’s select session is a first for the August sale.
“When it turned out we were going to have a three-day sale, we wanted to make it more convenient for trainers and owners who are out of town,” Ventura said. “Moving it a day later [rather than starting on Monday], allows the horsemen to be at the races over the weekend and still have plenty of time to come here. It gives the buyers more time to prepare.”
At last year’s sale, OBS reported 662 yearlings as sold from 994 offered for total sales of $7,588,400, a 36.6% decline from 2008 and the lowest total since 1991. Average price was down 29.1% at $11,463, and median was down 28.6% at $5,000. Only 4% of the yearlings in last year’s sale sold profitably for their breeders, according to estimates based on advertised stud fees and average expenses of $15,000 per horse.
Champion sprinter and OBS August graduate Kodiak Kowboy is showcased on the cover of the catalog for the selected session. Vinery Stables bought Kodiak Kowboy for $70,000 at the 2006 sale from Burleson Farms, agent. Bred in Kentucky by Hartwell Farm, Kodiak Kowboy previously sold for $40,000 at the 2005 Keeneland November breeding stock sale.
Other recent graded stakes-winning August sale graduates include Aegean, Diva Delite, Hurricane Ike, Big City Man, Macho Again, and many more. Noble’s Promise, winner of the 2009 Dixiana Breeders’ Futurity (G1), was bought back for $25,000 at the 2008 August sale, while 2010 Orchid Stakes (G3) winner Speak Easy Gal was bought back for just $5,000 at the ’07 sale.
From January 2009 through August 1, 2010, OBS August graduates have won or placed in 246 stakes races, 59 of those graded, according to OBS officials. A total of 19 horses from the August sale have gone on to earn more than $1-million on the racetrack.
Over the past decade, the August sale has sold 8,637 yearlings for an average sales price of $16,857, but at the track those runners had average earnings of $36,524. Well over half (58.4%) were winners and 2.9% became stakes winners.
Once again, OBS has given buyers an opportunity to preview select yearlings in advance by posting their conformation photos on the OBS website. Clicking the link on the homepage takes viewers to an index, which may be sorted by hip number, sire, dam, or consignor.
Cynthia McFarland is a Florida-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent
