Marette Farrell

By Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis OCALA, FL - A pair of million-dollar juveniles punctuated a day of lively trade in Central Florida as the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds reached its midway point with a second session Wednesday. "We certainly picked up where we left off yesterday and the action was just as good, if not better, and we hope it continues to move forward into the next two days," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "We came into the sale with some expectations given...

A son of leading sire Quality Road was the first to hit the seven-figure mark at the OBS Spring Sale's second session Wednesday, bringing $1.5 million from Marette Farrell. Bred by Bart Evans and Stonehaven Steadings, the bay is a son of MGSW & MGISP Wasted Tears (Najran). Consigned by de Meric Sales, the :10 flat breeze RNA'd for $385,000 at KEESEP.

You have to shake out a lot of grit from the riverbed before you glimpse that glint of gold. John Ropes started panning just about 40 years ago. He had a girl working for him at the time whose father, Andy Smithers, trained in Canada. When Ropes told her that he'd decided to buy a racehorse, she tried to save him. "No," she implored. "I'm telling you, don't do it." Ropes was adamant. He had always loved horses. His parents took him racing as a kid in Miami and, though...

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA), which raises funds and distributes those funds to Thoroughbred-related charities, announced Monday five new additions to its Board of Directors: Leah O'Meara, Andy Hils, Erik Johnson, Marshall Gramm, and Marette Farrell. They join current board members Mike McMahon (president), Nathan McCauley (vice president), Davant Latham (secretary), and Lesley Howard (treasurer), as well as Bob Beck, Bing Bush, Lesley Campion, Bob Edwards, Terry Finley, Brant Laue, Jaime Roth, and Anna Seitz. Gretchen Jackson, Ellen Moelis, Herb Moelis, and Dan Rosenberg are directors emeriti. "We are delighted...

by Jessica Martini, Brian DiDonato & Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY--Fasig-Tipton's two-day Selected Yearlings Showcase concluded Thursday with solid enough trade--especially on flashier offerings--given the global uncertainty leading up to the first major yearling sale in the year of COVID-19. The auction, necessitated by the cancellation of the July, Saratoga and New York-bred sales, featured 348 transactions for gross receipts of $61,765,000 at an average of $177,486 and median of $120,000. The buy-back rate was 33.7%. The sale topper came on Wednesday when Robbie Medina, bidding on behalf of Joe Allen,...

A son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah was the first to set off fireworks at Fasig-Tipton Thursday, igniting a spirited round of bidding between a trio of powerhouse connections in Donato Lanni, Coolmore and Marette Farrell, acting on behalf on Speedway Stables. Lanni was the first to throw in the towel, leaving Coolmore and Farrell to duke it out and it was Farrell left to sign the winning $1.25-million ticket on behalf of her longtime clients, Speedway's K.C. Weiner and Peter Fluor. "K.C. Weiner and Peter Fluor are two...

Favorite: My all-ime favorite was Triptych (Riverman). She was nicknamed the "Iron Lady" like Maggie Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of the U.K. (and the longest serving). She won 14 times. She frequently took her game to the boys, by accelerating from a position of power close to the pace, and was relentless all the way to the line. Triptych won the G1 Prix Marcel Boussac as a 2-year-old and ran in every major race as a 3-year-old. I was at The Curragh when she won the Irish 2,000...