OBS April Sale Starts Tuesday

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's April 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which has made setting records an annual event in recent years, returns for a four-day engagement Tuesday in Central Florida. Due to modifications in the under-tack show schedule, bidding will begin at noon Tuesday, with subsequent sessions commencing as regularly scheduled at 10:30 a.m. With 1,221 juveniles catalogued, the sale continues through Friday.

The April sale has firmly entrenched itself as the industry's bellwether juvenile auction in the last decade and OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski is expecting another strong renewal this week.

“April has proven itself to be the premier 2-year-old sale in the country and probably in the world,” said Wojciechowski. “We have buyers from all over the country and all over the world looking for horses at every level.”

The April sale set records for gross, average and median in both of the last two years. In 2018, 698 juveniles grossed $68,735,500 for an average of $98,475 and a median of $55,000. Demand was high throughout the market in 2018, and the sale concluded with an impressive 18.1% buy-back rate.

Asked if the 2019 renewal of the sale could match up to those record-setting trends, Wojciechowski said, “That's our goal. I think this is as good a catalogue as we've had and certainly with the activity on the grounds, everything suggests that we can do it. We are cautiously optimistic.”

Heavy rain and winds forced OBS to cancel Friday and Saturday sessions of the breeze show, with a longer session Thursday and an added session Sunday.

“Everyone has reacted positively to the changes,” Wojciechowski said. “You wish you didn't have to make changes like that, but certainly everyone recognized the issues we were going to face with the weather. The consignors work hard all year long to have the opportunity to showcase their horses. And our goal is to give them the best opportunity to showcase their horses. If we have to make a little adjustment here or there, I think they appreciate our efforts trying to do that. And I certainly think the buyers understand, too.”

Recent graduates of the April sale include multiple Grade I winner Midnight Bisou (Midnight Lute), Eclipse champion Shamrock Rose (First Dude), Queen's Plate winner Wonder Gadot (Medaglia d'Oro) and G1 Godolphin Mile winner Coal Front (Stay Thirsty). The success of April graduates on the racetrack keeps buyers returning for more, Wojciechowski said.

“The people who have bought here have obviously been happy with what they've bought,” he said. “That's why they keep coming back. It becomes self-perpetuating.”

While the buyers keep coming back, consignors also have plenty to like about the April sale.

“We love the April sale,” said Top Line Sales' Torie Gladwell. “There are all kinds of buyers coming in; you have buyers coming in to buy $10,000 horses and you've got buyers who are just looking for those top horses. So it's a great sale to bring any type of horse to.”

Despite an on-going polarization, demand for 2-year-olds has remained high in 2019 and Gladwell looks for those trends to continue through the April sale.

“I think the market is going to remain strong,” Gladwell said. “It's been strong all year. I think the good horses will sell well, like always. The middle market is a little bit weaker than the upper echelon, but I think it's going to be a really strong sale overall.”