Ocala Breeders' Sales Company

The TDN sat down with longtime owner/breeder Bill Heiligbrodt for the next installment in this ongoing series presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA). Through conversations with buyers and sellers, the series looks to contribute to the discussion on radiograph findings and their impact on racetrack success. Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt have been in the racing game some 30 years and have enjoyed top-level success with Yaupon (Uncle Mo), winner of the 2021 GI Forego S., as well as Eclipse champion sprinter Mitole (Eskendereya). Both Grade I...

OCALA, FL - A flurry of late activity carried the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training to its conclusion Thursday in Ocala, with final numbers slightly off the auction's robust 2022 renewal. "Coming off of a record gross of last year, I think we kind of held our own," said OBS Director of Sales Tod Wojciechowski. "It seemed like the market held up through the entire season. There were no big surprises--the market is what the market is. There is money for the perceived higher quality...

The TDN sat down with 2-year-old consignor Tom McCrocklin for this first offering in a new series presented in cooperation with the Consignors and Breeders Association (CBA). Through conversations with buyers and sellers, the series looks to contribute to the discussion on radiograph findings and their impact on racetrack success. Tom McCrocklin, who was represented this spring by graduates in both the GI Kentucky Derby and the GI Kentucky Oaks, as well as by a pair of million-dollar juveniles in the sales ring, admitted his approach to vet work varies...

The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training--once an afterthought, but now a destination in its own right--begins its three-day run Tuesday in Ocala with bidding slated to get underway at 10 a.m. The June sale brings the curtain down on the OBS juvenile sales season, which featured a co-record sale topper in March and records for gross and average in April. "The sales calendar has migrated later [in the year], so I think there is still a demand for 2-year-olds out there for sure," OBS Director...

A filly by Bucchero (hip 999) became the first of the week to work a furlong in :9 3/5, while a colt by Vino Rosso (hip 1072) turned in the day's fastest quarter-mile breeze of :20 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 Saturday in Ocala. Consigned by Britton Peak, hip 999 is out of stakes-placed Imperial Strike (Imperialism). The filly was bred in Florida by Wendy Lee Christ. Hip 1072, a supplement to the original...

A pair of fillies shared the fastest quarter-mile work of the penultimate day of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Friday in Ocala, while eight juveniles shared the fastest furlong time of :10 flat during a day pestered by persistent headwinds. Consignor Omar Ramirez sent out a filly by Street Boss (hip 817) to share Friday's bullet time of :20 3/5 while working early in the day's first set. "I was waiting for her all week," Ramirez admitted. "I knew she...

A colt by City of Light (hip 570) worked the week's co-fastest furlong of :9 4/5, while a son of First Samurai (hip 588) and a filly by Violence (hip 703) shared the day's fastest quarter-mile work of :21 flat during the fourth session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Thursday in Ocala. Headwinds increased throughout the session and all three bullet workers were on the track during the day's first set. Working shortly before 9 a.m. Thursday, hip 570...

The under-tack show for next week's Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training reached its midway point Wednesday, with a colt by Blame (hip 430) and a filly by Bee Jersey (hip 495) sharing the session's quarter-mile bullet time of :20 3/5. Hip 495 was among the first horses to work Wednesday morning when she turned in her bullet quarter-mile drill. Consigned by Triple J Equine Sales, the chestnut filly is out of Tale of La Comete (Tale of Ekati). Her third dam is La Comete (Holy...

A colt by Chitu (hip 347) tied the track record over the Safetrack racing surface when working a quarter-mile in :20 1/5 during the second session of the under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Tuesday in Central Florida. The juvenile, who is out of stakes-placed Satan's Mistress (Songandaprayer), is consigned by Silvestre Chavez. Tuesday's work was the colt's second trip over the OBS surface. He worked a furlong in :10 flat before RNA'ing for $70,000 at the OBS March sale. "We took...

A colt from the first crop of Solomini (Curlin) (hip 41) and a filly by Noble Mission (GB) (hip 39) shared the quarter-mile bullet of :20 3/5 during the first of six under-tack sessions ahead of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training Monday in Central Florida. Hip 41 turned in his :20 3/5 quarter-mile breeze shortly after the day's 7:30 a.m. start time for consignor Omar Ramirez. "He prepped really, really good for me," Ramirez said. "I didn't know it was going to be :20...

The under-tack show for the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training begins Monday, with the first 180 catalogued hips scheduled to breeze. Hips 181 through 360 will breeze Tuesday, followed by hips 361-540 on Wednesday; hips 541-720 on Thursday; hips 721-900 on Friday; and 901-1088 on Saturday. Each session of the under-tack show begins at 7:30 a.m. The June sale will be held June 13-15, with a session of horses of racing age included in the auction's final day. Bidding begins each day at 10 a.m.

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training completed its four-day run Friday with a  new record gross and average and a record-tying median in an auction which closely mirrored the 2022 renewal which set high-water marks for all of those metrics. Through four sessions, 698 horses grossed $90,805,000. A year ago, 705 horses grossed a record $90,723,000. The 2023 average of $129,907 was up fractionally from $128,685. The median remained unchanged at $65,000. "It was a great...