OBS March

The catalog for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's 2021 March Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training is now available via the OBS website and can be viewed here. A total of 561 juveniles have been cataloged for the two-day sale, set for Tuesday and Wednesday, Mar. 16-17, with both sessions beginning at 11:00 a.m. Hips 1-282 will sell Tuesday and Hips 283-563 Wednesday. The Under Tack Show will span three days, beginning Thursday, Mar. 11 with Hips 1-188. Hips 189-376 will breeze Friday, Mar. 12 and Hips 377-563 will go Saturday,...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for the first meeting of the new year to be held Tuesday at Nakayama Racecourse: Tuesday, January 5, 2021 2nd-NKY, ¥9,680,000 ($94k), Maiden, 3yo, 1800m AMERICAN YELL (c, 3, Tapit--Sindy With An S, by Broken Vow), a $700K Keeneland September purchase by owner Katsumi Yoshizawa,...

In this continuing series, we take a look ahead at US-bred and/or conceived runners entered for the upcoming weekend at the tracks on the Japan Racing Association circuit, with a focus on pedigree and/or performance in the sales ring. Here are the horses of interest for a busy Saturday running at Kyoto and Tokyo Racecourse, including a pair by American Pharoah and the stakes debut of the exciting Vanishing Point. Sunday's runners will feature in Saturday's TDN: Saturday, October 24, 2020 4th-KYO, ¥13,400,000 ($128k), Newcomers, 2yo, 1800m RUSSIAN SAMOVAR (f,...

In Greek mythology, Momos is "the personification of satire and mockery." In horse racing, Momos is a very talented and very fast son of Distorted Humor and Inspeight of Us (Speightstown) who delivered the first 'wow' performance in the first 2-year-old maiden of the Saratoga meet July 18 (video), earning 'TDN Rising Star' status. "I think everybody that buys a horse that wants to win that first maiden special at Saratoga realizes that you're going to be running against some of the best horses that have been specifically targeted for...

1st-SAR, $72K, Msw, 2yo, 5 1/2f, 1:10 p.m. ET MO MISCHIEF (Into Mischief), purchased by Myracehorse.com and Spendthrift Farm for $500,000 after breezing a quarter in :21 at OBS March, makes his debut for Todd Pletcher. The 9-5 morning-line favorite is out of the multiple stakes-placed Montbrook mare Montessa G. "He's a horse that we really liked when we bought him," said Spendthrift Farms' General Manager Ned Toffey. "Saratoga is the best of the bests, it's where people love to unveil their 2-year-olds and you better have your big boy...

As president of the sale company that conducted the final auction before the coronavirus pandemic shut down society as well as the first one after restrictions were lifted, OBS's Tom Ventura has had to learn on the fly. Wednesday, he joined the TDN Writers' Room podcast presented by Keeneland to offer his advice for the rest of the industry on keeping business going amidst COVID-19 and his impressions of the rebounding sale market. Calling in via Zoom as the Green Group Guest of the Week, Ventura said of the lessons...

The undefeated SW Café Pharoah (American Pharoah), the even-money pick in Tokyo's 1600-meter G3 Unicorn S., made that price look like a gift on Sunday, as he won that Japanese Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier by five easy lengths and set a new stakes record in the process (1:34.90). Dieu du Vin (Jpn) (Declaration of War) was second, 1 3/4 lengths ahead of Kenshinko (Jpn) (Pyro), as American-bred sires were responsible for the first three home. It was the first winner on dirt at the graded/group level for his...

While the coronavirus pandemic's most notable interruption to the world of horse racing has been the lack of, well, horses racing, many of the gears normally turning behind the scenes of the sport have been slowed or halted altogether as well. That includes the sales circuit, which has gone dark for several months as stay-at-home orders and bans on mass gatherings have, in some cases belatedly, trickled in to nearly all of the 50 states. As timing would have it, that shutdown basically covers all of 2-year-old sale season aside...

The Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds-in-Training Sale has been canceled, according to officials at Fasig-Tipton, "owing to the current restrictions in place at Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, CA, relating to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and in light of the changes to the 2020 Thoroughbred auction calendar." The event had been scheduled for June 3. "Factors beyond our control have necessitated the sale's cancellation," said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. "We greatly appreciate the support we received from those that had already committed entries, as well as the efforts and cooperation of Santa...

by Steve Sherack & Brian DiDonato With the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipping below 20,000 as the stock market continues to plummet, it was no surprise that the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded its two-day run with sharp, across-the-board decreases as the COVID-19 outbreak continues to wreak havoc throughout the world. This year's two-day sale grossed $27,902,500, good for an average of $95,885 (-34%), a median of $50,000 (-38%) and an RNA rate of 40%. The 2019 auction, held under dramatically different circumstances, grossed $44,422,500,...

Hip 237, the only quarter-mile breezer to stop the clock in :20 2/5 during last week's under-tack previews, brought a current sale-leading bid of $650,000 during Tuesday's opening session of the OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The bay filly was purchased by Japan's Katsumi Yoshida, who also scooped up a $420,000 Medaglia d'Oro colt (hip 65) earlier in the session. Hip 237, a $70,000 KEENOV weanling and $165,000 KEESEP yearling, was consigned by Ciaran Dunne's Wavertree Stables, Inc.

by Brian DiDonato & Steve Sherack The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company will hold its two-day March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Tuesday and Wednesday amid unprecedented circumstances as the nation and world grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused most major events to be canceled or postponed and racing conducted without spectators, if at all. Add to that a plummeting stock market--circuit breakers were again triggered as trade opened Monday despite the Federal Reserve announcing Sunday evening that it would slash interest rates to 0% and launch a $700-billion quantitative...