Final Chance for Yearlings at F-T October Sale

Amidst dreary weather in Lexington, prospective buyers still made their presence felt ahead of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale Oct. 19, not at all dismayed by the rain. The four-day sale which runs Oct. 20-23, is the final yearling auction in North America in 2025. A total of 1,601 yearlings have been cataloged. Due to inclement weather, the first session of the sale will start at 11:00 a.m. ET Monday, a one-hour delay from its originally scheduled time. The following three sessions will start at 10:00 a.m. "We're looking forward to the final yearling sale of 2025," said Fasig-Tipton president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. "We've seen a strong market from the beginning, and hopefully will continue through the end. "There's been plenty of activity on the sales grounds, plenty of buyers. The weather has been a little challenging today, but we've seen that happen numerous times in our industry, and people will adapt to that. There's some very nice horses here, so we would expect the trends to continue of positive results for 2025." The October Yearling Sale has a strong reputation for producing talented runners, most notably 2024 Horse of the Year and cover star Thorpedo Anna, who recently retired with $5.4 million in earnings during her illustrious career. Her trainer Kenny McPeek bought the daughter of Fast Anna out of the 2022 edition of the sale for $40,000. Last year's champion female sprinter Soul of an Angel also graces this year's catalog cover. The daughter of Atreides failed to meet her reserve at the 2020 sale, reaching a bid of just $3,000. Six wins and over $1 million in earnings later, the mare brought $2.6 million, selling to Chatsworth Stud during a digital flash sale held through Fasig-Tipton in March. Recent winners include Ready for Candy, who earned her third consecutive win and second graded stakes triumph Oct. 18 in the Sands Point Stakes (G2T) at Aqueduct Racetrack. The Ontario-bred daughter of Twirling Candy sold for $62,000 at the 2023 October Yearling Sale to John Fox. She was offered again through Fasig-Tipton at this year's Winter Mixed Sale, where she was picked up by West Bloodstock for $400,000. Other graduates of the sale who have seen graded stakes results this season include West Virginia Derby (G3) winner Chunk of Gold, Lake Placid Stakes (G2T) winner May Day Ready, San Diego Handicap (G2) winner Nysos, and Indiana Derby (G3) winner Tip Top Thomas, amongst others. Browning said the success of runners from this auction makes it a very exciting sale and gives buyers confidence to shop here. Last year's sale-topper was a colt by leading sire Curlin, who sold for $550,000 during the second session to Alistair Roden, agent for Mark Breen. The highest-priced filly was also by Curlin, who brought $500,000 from owner Gary Barber. A total of 1,125 horses changed hands last year for gross receipts of $58,940,500. The average price was $52,392 with a median of $20,000. The RNA rate was a healthy 16.8%, with 227 horses failing to meet their reserve. Top bloodstock agent Mike Ryan walked away as the leading buyer in 2024 with nine purchases for $1,630,000. McPeek, who has a history of great success with graduates from this sale, bought 16 for $1,307,000—one of them being recent Pocahontas Stakes (G2) winner Taken by the Wind, a 2-year-old filly by first-crop sire Rock Your World, whom he purchased for $20,000 at last year's October sale. Hips 1-400 will head to the ring Oct. 20. As of Sunday evening, Fasig-Tipton has reported 202 outs.