Increase at the Top at F-T Florida

By Steve Sherack

While officials at Fasig-Tipton chose not to delve into comparison figures at the conclusion of Wednesday evening's successful Florida 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale due to the addition of the 47-strong Adena draft, there was certainly at least one number that jumped up from last year that the auction house should be quite pleased with. 

No fewer than 14 juveniles sold for $500,000 or higher during Fasig-Tipton's maiden voyage at Gulfstream Park, up 75% from eight in 2014. Three of those graduates from 2014 include GI Hopeful S. winner and 'TDN Rising Star'Competitive Edge (Super Saver) ($750,000 2yo '14 FTFMAR); GII Saratoga Special S. winner and Hopeful runner-up I Spent It (Super Saver) ($600,000 2yo '14 FTFMAR), and unbeaten 'TDN Rising Star' Khozan (Distorted Humor) ($1 million 2yo '14 FTFMAR). 

“It was a great sign of the diversity of the horses and the buyers at the top end of the market,” Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning Jr. commented. “We are thrilled to be able to almost double the number of horses sold for $500,000 or more from one year to the next. It demonstrated the overall desire throughout the market place, and not only with 2-year-old-sales. We saw a continuation of the trends in the yearling and mixed sales last year that people want quality, and that they are willing to pay for what they perceive to be quality. That's very encouraging.” 

In all, 89 juveniles grossed $20,095,500 and averaged $225,792, good for a median of $130,000. With 43 horses reported as not sold, the buy-back rate was 32.6%. Browning was particularly pleased with the diverse buying bench amongst the top during Wednesday's auction.

“The other remarkable statistic is that of those 14 horses that brought $500,000 or more, there were 13 individual buyers represented,” Browning continued. “That kind of blew me away. That is a great indicator of a healthy market place with no reliance on one or two groups like we may of seen 15-20 years ago. It's a broad-based sustainable healthy market place and that's probably the single brightest spot amongst the increase in numbers.”