Brian Graves

by Christina Bossinakis & Stefanie Grimm Lexington, KY--The onset of the yearling season every summer can be a bit of a worrisome time for many. With the yearlings that have been so painstakingly selected by Fasig-Tipton's team for its first yearling sale of the season, it can often be a bit unnerving whether things will go off without a hitch or not. And at the conclusion of Tuesday's yearling session, it appeared that it had. "It was a fantastic start to the 2024 yearling sales season," affirmed Fasig-Tipton President and...

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale continued into its second half Wednesday in Lexington with a session which, while significantly smaller, produced results largely in line with its 2023 counterpart. For the session, 196 horses sold for a gross of $4,352,900. The average of $22,209 was down 2.54% from last year's corresponding session, while the median of $10,000 was up 25%. From 316 catalogued horses, 242 horses were offered and 46 failed to meet their reserves for a buy-back...

by Jessica Martini & Stefanie Grimm LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale, which hadn't had a million-dollar mare since 2019, had two reach seven figures during its opening session Monday in Lexington, with 19-year-old Tom Wachman making the day's highest bid of $1.6-million to acquire the broodmare prospect Prank (Into Mischief) on behalf of his grandfather, John Magnier's Coolmore. Late in the session, Tomoyuki Nakamura of K I Farm purchased Curlin's Voyage (Curlin) for $1 million. "I think we've got to be very happy with...

Even the most optimistic observer would have been hard-pressed to predict that the 2023 Keeneland September Yearling Sale would live up to its blockbuster 2022 renewal, but when the dust had settled Saturday afternoon, the auction's 12-day run produced numbers largely in line with last year's record setter. "Coming into this year, we had to have a little bit of caution just because of the economic climate and some negativity in the sport," admitted Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. "I think we have to be extremely happy with...

On day three of the 2021 Keeneland September Sale, bloodstock agent Donato Lanni went to $775,000 for a colt from the first crop of champion Good Magic on behalf of the partnership headed up by SF Bloodstock, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stables. Reincarnate has helped put his young Hill 'n' Dale-based sire on the map with a victory in this year's GIII Sham S. and Los Alamitos Derby, and the team will be hoping that lightning strikes twice after they parted with $700,000 for the Gainesway-consigned hip 2009 during the...

By Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland September Yearling Sale's first Book 2 session continued right on from where the auction's elite Book 1 section concluded, producing strong results largely in line with last year's record-setting renewal. During Wednesday's session, 209 yearlings sold for $64,024,000. The session average of $306,335 and the median was $255,000. During last year's Book 2 opener, 219 head grossed $66,695,000 for an average of $304,543 and a median of $250,000. With 83 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 28.42%....

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - With the very first horse through the ring bringing $1.3 million, the second session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale was off to the races Tuesday and the action didn't slow down throughout the day as the second-to-last offering brought $1.25 million. In between, 13 other yearlings sold for seven figures, including a colt by Into Mischief who brought top price of $3 million from the partnership of Chuck Sonson, West Point Thoroughbreds and Woodford. With eight million-dollar yearlings Monday, the...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis The Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened with a packed pavilion and plenty of bidding from a diverse buying bench ultimately producing eight seven-figure sales led by a $2.3-million daughter of Into Mischief. At the end of the session, numbers were largely in line with the figures from the opening session of last year's record-breaking auction. "We were all biting our nails a little bit thinking about being measured up to last year's sale which was so phenomenal," said Keeneland President Shannon Arvin. "But the...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis SARATOGA SPRINGS, NY - The Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale of Selected Yearlings, which looked to have a tough task to live up to its record-smashing 2022 renewal, proved more than equal to that task and, when a fast and frenetic session concluded Tuesday night, the auction had once again set high-water marks for gross and average and tied its record median. "We have experienced some magical nights in Saratoga in the past and you've heard me talk about the Saratoga magic, but we ain't seen...

ELMONT, NY - Breathe easy. Following significant improvement in air quality conditions throughout New York State, the 155th GI Belmont Stakes--celebrating the 50th anniversary of Secretariat's performance of a lifetime in the final leg of the Triple Crown--will go on as scheduled Saturday evening. If there's one sire's name that you want to see when handicapping the 1 1/2-mile Classic, it's Tapit. Responsible for a co-record four Belmont winners, two second-place finishers and two third-place finishers, the 22-year-old Gainesway kingpin will be represented by potential race favorite Tapit Trice (Tapit)...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- There isn't a more expensive sales graduate in the 20-horse field for the GI Kentucky Derby than Whisper Hill Farm and Gainesway Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Tapit Trice (Tapit). The $1.3-million Keeneland September yearling graduate, bred in Kentucky by Antony Beck's operation, has gone on to validate that seven-figure pricetag in spades, bringing a four-race winning streak into the first Saturday in May off the heels of eye-catching, come-from-behind victories for Todd Pletcher in the GIII Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby and GI Toyota Blue Grass S....

LEXINGTON, KY--The market remained competitive as Book 3 of the Keeneland November Sale closed its two-day run Friday with a frenzy of activity towards the end of the session. After a slow, but steady beginning to the day, Spritz (Awesome Again) (Hip 1747) commanded everyone's attention deep into the session, topping the day's action at $550,000 from Gary Holland's Kamden Racing. She is carrying her first foal by Quality Road. The day's co-second-highest priced offering came just six hips later when the Brogdens fended off all comers for a mare...