In 2015, the three Fasig-Tipton sales which kick off the North American yearling sale market had a total of 825 yearlings catalogued, of which 532 (64.4%) were listed as sales, totaling $81,636,000 (see the Weekly Sales Ticker), and averaging $153,451. The three sales comprised a little over 10% of the number catalogued (7,907) and sold [...]

Given that we are in, shall we say, uncertain times politically and economically, probably still the most important metric in the horse business this morning was Saratoga's 40% rise in gross last August. That $13.5-million bump is graphically displayed in the Weekly Sales Ticker, and of course your eye is immediately drawn (top graph) to [...]

The APEX ratings cover a seven-year span, which is actually short enough that we were able to quantify when once-great sires like Gone West and Green Desert, in their time, went off the boil, but on the other hand it's still quite a long period of time. So it's handy to be able to take [...]

One of the main objectives of APEX ratings is to describe 'the frequency with which' sires get runners which rank in certain percentile groups of earners in a calendar year or racing season: 'A Runners' rank in the top 2%; 'B Runners' in the next 2%; 'C Runners' in the next 4%; and therefore 'ABC [...]

Coolmore's Galileo, who must now rank as one of the all-time great sires, now has his 11th crop of 3-year-olds racing. At a time when many sires of his age are commencing to fade, Galileo might be stronger than ever; at least that's what the new run of the Midyear 2016 APEX figures suggest. Covering [...]

It was never likely to be entirely smooth sailing at Fasig-Tipton's July Yearling Sale which kicked off the 2016 yearling sale season on Tuesday. The 2-year-old consignors found themselves with more supply than demand below the top at the 2-year-old sales this spring, and that had to impact the pinhookers' spend at a $100,000-average sale [...]

By the time a sire's first foals are halfway through their 4-year-old years–and their second crop are halfway through their 3-year-old years– we usually have a pretty good idea of whether the needle which measures success is pointing up or down. Not always; sometimes we know right away, like with Coolmore Ashford's Uncle Mo. Other [...]

Fasig-Tipton kicks off the North American and European yearling sale season with its July Yearling Sale; this year it's again a one-day sale, on Tuesday, July 12, though it will be preceded by a Horses of Racing Age sale on Monday afternoon. As recently as 2007 the Fasig July Yearling Sale grossed $36.4-million and averaged [...]

Plenty of Thoroughbred business professionals both inside and outside of Britain and Europe are trying to figure out what the U.K.'s 52%-48% vote Thursday to leave the European Union means to the horse business. There's an awful lot about which as yet we have no idea, and a few things we can say. First, generally [...]

It doesn't happen every year, but in 2016 Coolmore's Galileo was the leading sire at Royal Ascot, with five winners–four of them in a row in the last two races on Friday and the first two races on Saturday, following Order Of St. George's impressive win in Thursday's G1 Ascot Gold Cup. He also had [...]

Not even periodic persistent rain Tuesday and demonstrably soft ground for the first two days could impact the momentum and drama that is Royal Ascot. We hear a lot about the importance of emphasizing lifestyle as part of the attraction of horse racing, and if dressing up like something out of My Fair Lady doesn't [...]

Sea The Stars, no less than a half-brother to Galileo, by Cape Cross, had a truly perfect 3-year-old campaign in 2009. Winner of two of his three starts, including the G2 Beresford S., for his owner-breeders, the Tsui family, as a 2-year-old in 2008, Sea The Stars went six-for six at three under the tutelage [...]