FT Kentucky Sales

Horses of racing age sell Monday

Yearlings sell Tuesday

It will be fun to see Runhappy’s first yearlings as well as Frosted’s, Nyquist’s and California Chrome’s.

Apparently C.C’s are all over the place as far as conformation and phenotype. There are four of his in the sale. I wouldn’t breed a mare to him if I bred racehorses but he was very popular with his fans, so if anyone here is a Chrome fan, here will be a look at his first sale yearlings.

There are four by Runhappy, three by Nyquist, and five by Frosted.

I always enjoy seeing the first crop from the new stallions.:slight_smile:
Keeneland September has a more representative selection, and I can’t miss the Saratoga beauty pageant, but it is fun to watch the beginning of the yearling sales.

There are some very nice pedigrees and race records amongst the horses of racing age.

http://www.fasigtipton.com/

You can get a good price for a mid six figure horse. I would neither breed nor buy a CC. He was a freak.

I wish more of them in the catalogue had videos. I watch them all carefully, sometimes 10 times each, take notes and like to see if later on I am right about any of them, based on conformation. I can’t physically go to the sales but I try to find videos after it’s over.

why did they move the CA sale to fairplex from SA this year?

Bad press from the breakdowns at SA? I don’t know.

Thorostride has videos of some of the yearlings on you tube, usually Bluewater Sales puts theirs up. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLoFoWJiGeZCizxejPgzfnL7kklH40DJAr

I can’t attend the sales either. I read the catalogs and watch online.

You mean FT Kentucky? Keeneland yearlings sell in September. FT-K July select yearling sale is this week. Two entirely different companies and different facilities. As a shopper, Fasig is much smaller and easier to navigate. Working in the barns, though, I preferred Keeneland. :slight_smile:

If you click the FT link in OPs post, it says FT Horses of Racing Age Sale, Lexington, Ky July 8. Looks like 190 lots listed. Yearlings on July 9 and another batch selling in Sept.

Also mentions the Cali yearlings in Sept that moved to Fairplex will be returning to SA next year. Perhaps the temp move is related to SA preparing to host the Breeders Cup crowds not too many weeks after the sale date this year.

Yes, FTK this week. I do know that FT and Keeneland sales are different entities.
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll fix the title. :slight_smile:

Bet the Cali yearling sale in late Sept moved to Fairplex due to SA preparing to host the Breeders Cup 4 weeks after the sale date. Not because of negative press. They need to modify facility for BC events. It’s all good.

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Oh, that’s good to know. :yes:

There sure are some beauties. Here are some of the yearling’s videos; https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis…fnL7kklH40DJAr

Right off, I like hips #187 and #181. Any favorites from those who have watched?

I didn’t watch all the videos, but hip #175 certainly caught my eye.

The Twirling Candy filly. She has a nice walk.

It’s just a guess but I think it is more likely because it will be brutally hot in Arcadia in September and the barns are in in a parking lot. Also the sale itself was in the walking ring and there just wasn’t enough seating. By luck, I scored a bench under a tree but ending up sitting there for the entire sale because people were milling around looking for a place to sit down.

Fairplex is a great place for a yearling sale. The 2 year old sale will then come back to Santa Anita.

I think that it would behoove the sales, especially the newer ones, to be held as close in time to the big race meets as possible. Close to the time of the Breeders Cup would seem to be an excellent time for a “boutique” type sale, though November really is a less than ideal time to sell yearlings…
Perhaps “Horses of Racing Age” if they really could consign some exceptional horses?

It seems to me that the Saratoga sales do well not only because the horses are the cream of the crop, but in part because of the excitement, history, and the social aspect of the Saratoga meet.

People do get caught up in the excitement of the big races. Those folks who possess vast amounts of discretionary income may well be more inclined to join in, by buying a horse when the sale is happening in close proximity to a well publicized, well attended, historic (or big purse) meet.

I am speaking of bringing new owners to racing. Not sure of the political climate at this point in SoCal so I don’t know if this year would be the time to try it.

Problematic that the Breeder’s Cup moves around, and the logistics of a sale around the same time as the Breeder’s Cup might be untenable for the track.

While I agree with you in theory, it’s interesting to note that the Keeneland April 2yo Sale was intended to capitalize on its placement during Keeneland’s April meet and was unable to make a go of it. Gone for several years, it was resurrected this year as a 2yo and HORA sale. The number of horses sold was pretty low. No word yet on whether it will be back next year.

Fasig Tipton has the same problem with their–originally in February, now in March–boutique 2yo sale held during the Gulfstream meet.

The other problem is that these sales need to be slotted into an existing sales calendar. Del Mar used to have a yearling sale. When Fasig Tipton took over, they didn’t want a California sale in August too near to the time of the Saratoga sale. So it moved to late September and ultimately ended up at Fairplex, a facility far more conducive to a yearling sale than Santa Anita.

California used to have two two year old sales in March and May which was great. Now there is a single one in June. Fasig Tipton did not want to interfere with existing sales on the calendar and dilute the participation of California buyers.

So like everything in racing, self interest plays a role too.

Have to say, I saw some photos and videos of 2 of the California Chrome consignments and I have to say they are lovely, both are pretty similar to each other although one is a bit taller and longer legged. Beautiful type about them. Lots of presence and balance. Good walk, look very athletic. I was a bit worried about the Chrome’s since chrome always appeared to be quite narrow chested and a bit toed out but so far these early consignments from him look the part. If they don’t make good race horses; the sport horse crowd will get some lovely horses.

It’s hard too believe many of these are yearlings. They look incredibly mature for their age having just reached their first birthday in the last few months. Lots of muscle and substance.

not much of a video but here is one of the Runhappy’s selling in the sale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3iA1NHfd10

I too, am a bit disappointed for lack of videos. Its 2019 people. For those buyers who cant be at a sale and use agents to purchase, videos could help gain a lot more bids and interest in horses when used and marketed properly. Like a good photograph.

From what has been posted from video, Hips 175, 314 and 93 are my picks of that bunch

A video, like a photo, might whet someone’s appetite. It won’t make a sale. There are many things buyers look for that can’t be seen on a video.

Factor in the cost of a video–probably $1,000 or so to do right, on top of the other sales costs (5-10K for a modestly priced horse) and I can see why most sellers don’t bother, even in 2019.

The people who complain the loudest about the lack of vidoes are internet browsers, not actual buyers. And sellers are well aware of that too.

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