Summer Heats Up at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale

If the weather in Saratoga Springs of late is any indication of what's to come at the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion Monday and Tuesday evenings, the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale is poised for a volcanic renewal.

In 2023, a total of 154 yearlings sold for $75,055,000, averaging $487,370 with a median of 375,000. The gross jumped from $66,955,000 generated for 143 sold in 2022.

“The vibe feels good here,” confirmed Taylor Made's Frank Taylor. “Everybody you would want to see in the courtyard, you would have seen walk in. The horses have been showing well and the weather hasn't been too hot and they're doing pretty well.”

Taylor continued, “Like always, we try to bring horses up here that are really good physicals, have good walks, vet well and have pedigrees.”

A total of 240 yearlings have been cataloged this season, up from the 235 enlisted one year ago. According to Fasig-Tipton's Boyd Browning Jr., the quality remains on par with seasons' past, highlighted by a pair of its poster boys and Classic division alums–GI Preakness Stakes winner Seize the Grey (Arrogate), a $300,000 Saratoga buy, and GI Toyota Blue Grass Stakes winner Sierra Leone (Gun Runner), also runner-up in the GI Kentucky Derby and third in the GI Belmont Stakes. The latter topped the 2022 sale with a $2.3 million final bid from White Birch Farm and M.V. Magnier.

Also gracing this year's catalog, 2023 Preakness hero National Treasure (Quality Road), who returned at four to annex the GI Pegasus World Cup and the GI Met Mile. Rounding out the quartet, GI Del Mar Futurity scorer Prince of Monaco (Speightstown), runner-up in the June 8 GI Woody Stephens Stakes at Saratoga, realized $950,000 in Saratoga in 2022.

“The success of our sales graduates has certainly made the sale,” said Browning. “It's even increased its prominence when you have horses like we've got on the front cover this year. These are some of the best stallions prospects in North America.”

Browning points out that Saratoga shoppers have become accustomed to the quality that they find at the venue in upstate New York.

“The buyers have high expectations when they come to Saratoga,” he explained. “Fortunately, our consignors continue to bring us horses that meet those expectations and that perform on the racetrack.”

Taylor echoed that sentiment.

“You really have to bring a horse up here that really vets well, looks good, walks good, has a good mind and shows well,” he said. “If you bring a horse that jumps through all the hoops, you'll get paid really well.”

Commenting on the group of yearlings amassed for this summer's renewal, Browning said, “It's a fantastic group of yearlings on the sales grounds, and you know, that doesn't just happen. It's not magic on our part. The consignors had to show us quality yearlings and feel confident in bringing them here and they brought us the best. I'm very enthusiastic. I'm very excited and I can't wait to kick it off.”

The annual boutique sale has become a well-established source of million-dollar babies. Case in point, the 2023 renewal of the auction saw 10 yearlings surpass the seven-figure mark, headed by the $4 million paid by Zedan Racing for a son of Curlin out of champion Beholder.

While it is true the sale routinely unearths the fancy pedigrees and physicals that go for big money every year, the venue has developed a reputation of offering prospects to those not shopping at the top level of the market as well.

“Our graduates are a testament to the fact that the sale can cater to different segments of the market,” Browning said. “You have Sierra Leone running in the Classics, a top caliber horse. He was a topper here. Then you have Seize the Grey, a horse that wins the Preakness and he brought $300,000 here. So that tells me a bit about the diversity of the horses that you have here.”

He continued, “Honestly, I think it's a bit of a misconception about the Saratoga sale among some of the buyers. But I can tell you we've got 240 horses in this catalog and there are no fillers. They may not all be million-dollar horses, but every horse has been selected by their owners, consignors and lastly, by us.

We start with 2500 yearlings in our process and we end up with 240 in the catalog. That's literally less than 10% of the horses we started with in the process and that actually ended up on the sale's grounds.”

Underscoring that quality doesn't have to cost millions, Mill Ridge's Price Bell pointed toward a pair of the consignment's graduates who have exited the sale and gone on to excel.

“We sold Seize the Grey and [MGSW & GISP] Red Carpet Ready (Oscar Performance–$180,000 purchase in 2021) here,” he said. “Both were sold for well below the average of the sale. But both were sold for very good prices for our owners and breeders. So we always nominated a lot of horses to the Fasig sales in March and their team comes out to inspect them and we talk through each one. They might not be the most expensive yearlings, but we feel like we can bring athletes here.”

After kicking off the yearling market at the July sale last month, Browning expects to see more of the same in Saratoga.

“I think that was an indication that there was interest and enthusiastic participation from a broad spectrum of buyers,” he affirmed. “Of course, business is alive and well. You're always a bit concerned when you kick off a new sales cycle, yearlings, 2-year-old and broodmares, etc. But July reaffirmed that, hey people still want good horses. They want racehorses.”

Bell concurred that the catalog offers many opportunities to buy a top-rung prospect and that can fit into almost any program.

“If the past is any indication, there are going to be four or five Grade I winners on the grounds,” said Bell. “So that's a great compliment to the Fasig recruitment team. It really is indicative of the quality that's here, that the owners, breeders and Fasig have worked to recruit and agree is the best place to showcase them. It's not for every horse, because it can be a long time to be here. It can give people an opportunity to fall out of love with them. But we hope that we do bring horses that people fall more in love with each time they see them.”

Browning hopes the romance will start to flow in earnest come Monday at 6:30 p.m., affirming that many of the right players are already in place to produce fireworks over the next two evenings.

“We've got the right buyers here,” he said. “I think we've got the right horses for those men and women who, hopefully, will pursue them aggressively and hopefully will achieve great results with them down the road.”