Becky Thomas

A synthetic track is necessary for the survival of New York breeding farms, such as Sequel. The New York Bred program and the breeder awards generated are incredibly beneficial and fundamental to the financial stability of the New York farms and breeders. However, New York breeders only earn awards for horses competing within New York. Unfortunately, horses that are predominantly competitive on turf are often shipped to Florida or Louisiana for turf racing as owners want to see their horses race. As such, several prominent New York trainers base their...

Three colts and one filly shared the furlong bullet time of :9 4/5 during the final session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Sunday. The quartet all took to track within the first half-hour of the session, with a colt by Tapiture (hip 993) getting the day started with his bullet work for Navas Equine. The colt is out of Union Queen (Union Rags) and his third dam, Above Perfection (In Excess {Ire}), produced GI Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming....

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm OCALA, FL - The action picked up noticeably during the second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training and, with the auction's first seven-figure offering leading the way, figures concluded above 2023 levels Wednesday evening. "It was an excellent day," OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski said at the close of business Wednesday. "As I said yesterday, there are plenty of good horses left to be sold and obviously that was borne out today. Quality horses sell well...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL - With a pair of colts topping the seven-figure mark, the tempo picked up during the second session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Wednesday. With 144 horses sold Wednesday for $25,488,000, the session average was $177,000--up 6.2% from last year's corresponding session--and the median of $87,500 declined 2.8% from a year ago. The buy-back rate was 31.8%. "I thought it was a very good session," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "It felt like...

When Domestic Product (Practical Joke) bullied his way through traffic to get his nose in front in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby Saturday, he not only earned valuable qualifying points to the GI Kentucky Derby, he also provided a timely update for his half-sister who is scheduled to sell during the first session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales' Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday. "She's been very popular today, let's put it that way," Becky Thomas said of the filly from the first crop of Complexity (hip...

The first foal by GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf winner and Sequel Stallions sire Fire At Will (Declaration of War--Flirt, by Kitten's Joy) was born recently. Bred in New York by Horse Haven Racing and born on Jan. 30, the colt is the first foal out of the unraced Marital Joy (Practical Joke). The mare is from the same extended family as Breeders' Cup winner Shared Account (Pleasantly Perfect) and her Breeders' Cup-winning daughter Sharing (Speightstown). "The colt has a lot of scope to him," said Sequel's Becky Thomas. "He...

Sequel Stallions New York's GSW and MGISP Keepmeinmind (Laoban--Inclination, by Victory Gallop) was represented by his first foal recently, a filly. Bred by Sequel, the filly is out of the unraced Wintrily (Carpe Diem), a half-sister to Nov. 18 Key Cents S. winner Tricky Temper (Into Mischief). "We couldn't be happier with how this foal is built," said Sequel's Becky Thomas. "She has a great size and shape to her, plenty of leg, and has all the parts and pedigree to be a great racehorse!" Keepmeinmind will stand his second...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale gained momentum throughout its opening session and concluded a day of competitive bidding Wednesday evening with 11 seven-figure mares and a median up 30% from its 2022 counterpart. "It was a good day. It was a really good day," said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. "We were really pleased with the session overall. The theme of the century seems to be that the quality sells and there was really high demand for the quality. There was...

Sequel New York will hold its 2023 Stallion Open House Jan. 21 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the stallion barn at 167 Maple Lane, Hudson, New York 12534. The 2023 Sequel New York roster, with fees, is: Freud (Storm Cat), private; Honest Mischief (Into Mischief), $6,500 LFSN; Keepmeinmind (Laoban), $6,500 LFSN; and Mission Impazible (Unbridled's Song), private. Multiple mare discounts are available, as well as incentives for repeat breeders. "We want to give our breeders a chance to be profitable," said Sequel owner Becky Thomas. "The recent sales...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, which began sluggishly Monday morning, built up steam throughout the day and ended with a trio of firework offerings and figures largely in line with the auction's 2022 renewal. "The beginning of the day was definitely slower than we probably expected," said Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "It was a little sluggish. But as the day went on, it became more promising." At the close of business Monday, 224 head had sold for $16,261,900. The average was...

TIMONIUM, MD - With a $3.55-million son of Bernardini providing the auction's biggest fireworks, the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded another record-setting renewal in Timonium Tuesday. At the conclusion of business, 391 horses had sold for a gross of $37,297,700--bettering the sale's previous high mark of $33,692,000 set just last year. The average of $95,391 was another record, bettering the mark of $94,375 set last year. The median dipped to $47,000, just 6% off the 2020 record of $50,000. "Last year was such a wow year and, when...

TIMONIUM, MD -  Just minutes into the second day of the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale under-tack show, a colt by Bernardini (hip 385) zipped the week's fastest furlong work of :9 4/5 Wednesday in Timonium. It was the first time since 2012 that a juvenile had shaded :10 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds oval. The dark bay colt is consigned to the Midlantic sale by Becky Thomas's Sequel Bloodstock on behalf of breeders Chester and Mary Broman. "The expectations were pretty high," said Sequel's Carlos Manresa. "Like most...