pinhooking

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, Ky - With a pair of seven-figure colts by Nyquist leading the way, trade remained strong straight through the conclusion of Book 2 during the fourth session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale Thursday in Lexington. "It was a great day," said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy at the close of business Thursday evening. "We are very pleased. The median is up 25% for the session over last year, which is a metric that we always use. That shows that it...

Pinhooking is a risky old business, but then again, so is breeding. Pinhookers at least have the chance to observe a live animal in front of them, watch them walk up and down and make their judgments accordingly. Those who have been around young stock for many a year can make an educated guess as to how a particular youngster may continue to develop, and work out if there are certain aspects which can be helped though improved nutrition or judicious farriery. Then there are the random elements, for better...

Carl Bowling, a longtime pinhooker in Ocala, Florida, died July 26 at the age of 84. The following is an obituary provided to the TDN by the Bowling family: "Carl Bowling passed away July 26, 2024, resulting from an accident while riding a motorcycle near Hiawassee, GA, where he enjoyed his summers with his family in the North Georgia mountains. Carl was 84 years young, born in 1940 in Black Mountain, NC. He was one of two boys and five girls. He is survived by his wife of 66 years,...

Leo and Sarah Dooley can tell you a thing or two about the Thoroughbred racing industry. But don't let their youthful appearances fool you--the couple has already forged a most impressive, not to mention broad, resume in the game. And while they can hardly be called newcomers to the sales game, having sold horses through other agencies in the past, the couple will embark on new territory when selling horses for the first time under their own banner, Norevale Farm, at the upcoming Fasig-Tipton July Sale July 9. Explaining the...

The island is still there, nearly 50 years later, which would have surprised Nick de Meric at the time. He'd have assumed that there could be nothing left by now. "Because they were basically mining it off the map," he recalls. "It was made of iron ore. So they had these massive Euclid trucks, wheels high as a building. And all these men on shift work, living in long huts. Not quite a prison environment, but it was all-male, tropical heat, nothing to do but drink beer and play cards....

The Midwestern sage, Mark Twain espoused, "The secret of getting ahead is getting started." Nothing could be more apropos when considering joining a Thoroughbred racehorse partnership. Getting started is the hardest part for most prospective owners. The world of Thoroughbred racing can seem as inaccessible as the Churchill Downs Turf Club on Derby Day. The good news is joining a partnership makes getting started easier. In the first part of this series, we provided basic information such as investment levels, tax considerations and the entertainment value partnerships offer. In Part...

Perhaps it is called the Hopeful Stakes because that's the most anyone can ever be with a Thoroughbred. But if nearly any purchaser at Keeneland over the next couple of weeks would like to be contesting that race, a year from now, then one consignor might give them not just hope but something closer to confidence. Okay, so a trifecta for Eaton Sales graduates in the Saratoga Grade I last year featured only the winner, Forte (Violence), from the 2021 Keeneland September Sale. Runner-up Gulfport (Uncle Mo) and third Blazing...

Ciaran and Amy Dunne's Wavertree Stables is perennially one of the leading consignors of 2-year-olds in the country, but their process for buying pinhooking prospects at the yearling sales changed dramatically with the advent of the sales repository over two decades ago. "We started buying yearlings before the repository," Ciaran Dunne said. "Back in those days, you had to shorten down your vet list because of the costs involved. There was very little that we couldn't live with because we might vet, at the very most, four horses a day....

OCALA, FL - The Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's June Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training duly marched through its opening session with a $450,000 son of Hard Spun one of three horses to top the $200,000 mark Tuesday in Ocala. At the close of business Tuesday, 192 juveniles had sold for a gross of $7,110,400. The average of $37,033 was up from the 2022 session's final average of $34,431--which included post-sale transactions--but was down from the end-of-session figure of $38,628. The median of $20,000 dipped from the final figure of $22,000,...

The husband-and-wife team of Paul and Sara Thorman at Trickledown Stud, one of the most recognisable names in any sales catalogue, have revealed a change of emphasis that will see the operation concentrate more on pinhooking rather than breeding in the coming years.  Trickledown consigned over 300 horses annually in its pomp but, after reducing the broodmare band to just four ahead of the breeding season, Paul explained how he and his wife Sara will bid to enjoy life a bit more whilst running a more streamlined version of the...

One of the most respected racing and bloodstock journalists in Britain and Ireland for over 20 years, Ryan McElligott bid adieu to the press room at the Goffs November Breeding Stock Sale as he embarked on his new role as Chief Executive of the Irish Racehorse Trainers Association. Admitting there was some emotion surrounding the move, McElligott looks back on over 20 years reporting on the sport he loves and looks ahead to the challenges he faces in his new position as the IRTA chief.  The 41-year-old wears many hats....

A group of 15 businesspeople from across the U.S. visited Lexington's horse country this past weekend to get their first taste of all the racing industry has to offer. The enthusiastic group represented Stony Point Bloodstock, which was launched last year by Chilly Bleak Farm's Jim Fitzgerald, Bill Baxter, a veterinarian from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and his son Matt Baxter, founder of a human resource technology startup called Wedge. The trio started the partnership with the goal of setting up a for-profit pinhooking group that would also create an experience...