Ocala Breeders' Sales March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale concluded March 12 with a record gross of $72,050,000, including private sales, surpassing the previous record set in 2023 when 464 juveniles brought $71,473,500.
"Gratified, pleased; happy for the consignors," said OBS director of sales Tod Wojciechowski. "I say all the time, they bring the horses, and it's the quality of horses that they bring is what brings those prices; so I'm very happy for the consignors."
Over the course of three days, 443 horses were sold, with gains across nearly every key metric. The average price rose 7% to $162,641 (up from $151,992 in 2025), while the median saw a 21.4% jump to $85,000 (up from $70,000 in 2025). The RNA rate of 21.7% represented the 123 horses that failed to meet their reserve, compared with a 17.6% RNA rate at last year's sale.
Seven horses sold for $1 million or more, tying an OBS March record. The sale was topped by a $2 million Nyquist filly (Hip 372) that agent Killora/Linton bought for Boyd Racing. The filly is out of Smooth and Savvy, who is a half sister to grade 1 winner and millionaire Smooth Like Strait. She breezed a furlong in :09 3/5, the co-fastest time recorded during the under-tack show for Ciaran and Amy Dunne's Wavertree Stables.
Wavertree Stables claimed top honors among consignors, with 13 juveniles selling for a gross of $7,730,000.
Wojciechowski expressed pride in the success of mainstay consignors such as Wavertree Stables and in emerging consignors, as this market segment has seen a transition in leadership.
"As we lose people like Eddie Woods and we see Nick de Meric stepping down a little bit, we see Tristan (de Meric) picking up the reins. We also see Jimbo Gladwell, Joe Pickerell, SBM Stables, Jesse Hoppel, these younger consignors, are really starting to grow more and more within the industry," he said.
Susan Montanye of SBM Training & Sales and Hoppel both sold their first seven-figure horses this week. Montanye consigned the highest-priced colt of the sale (Hip 416) by Into Mischief , who brought $1.85 million from Frank Fletcher Racing Operations; and, Hoppel sold Hip 299, a colt by Mo Town , for $1.05 million to Donato Lanni, as agent for Baoma Corp.
"There's always that 'Are we going to replace the consignors that we had?' But, it looks like we're in good hands," Wojciechowski added.
A colt by freshman sire Corniche commanded $1.35 million on Day 1 of the sale when selling to Legion Bloodstock. Hip 95 was bred by Speedway Stables, who bought Corniche as a 2-year-old for $1.5 million from De Meric Sales at the 2021 OBS Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training. Corniche went on to win the 2021 Breeders' Cup Juvenile (G1) and be named champion 2-year-old male.
"There was a lot of excitement with those (first-crop sire) horses, and they proved it on the racetrack," Wojciechoswki said.
Legion Bloodstock purchased a variety of horses by freshman sires, including a Jackie's Warrior colt (Hip 542) for $600,000 in partnership with Gracie.
"I think Jackie's Warrior is one that kind of stood out to us through the whole process," said Kristian Villante of Legion Bloodstock. "I think more so than most years, this freshman crop is actually very deep for freshman sires. It's exciting."
Legion Bloodstock purchased juveniles for an array of clients, ranging from $85,000 to seven figures. Villante noted the competition among buyers was fierce across the board but especially strong for the top tier.
Ramiro Restrepo of Marquee Bloodstock also had a keen interest in Corniche's progeny. In partnership with Morplay Racing and Sabby Racing, the trio secured a filly by the son of Quality Road for $500,000 on the final day of the sale. Restrepo has had good fortune at the 2-year-olds in training sales where he found 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mage at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale and recent Tampa Bay Derby (G3) winner The Puma at last year's OBS Spring Sale.
"Over and over again, they surprised me, not only because of their performance on the track, but physically, how nice they looked," Restrepo said. "There was an impressive showing from Drain the Clock and Nashville in the sales ring, but for myself, who's shopping for a certain kind of horse, we really thought Corniche stood out. Very happy to get one of his progeny from the sale.
"It was a filly that everyone on both teams and I really loved. Greg Martin had some nice things to say about her, and Greg sold for my Dad in the '80s, so it's nice to have that confidence to hear those words from Greg and Britton Peak," he said.
Restrepo said the ultra-competitive market required him to appraise the horses he was interested in a little higher than anticipated.
"There's a lot of money out there. I don't know if it's the Big Beautiful Bill, tax implications, or the trickle down from the excitement of the last few years, but it seems like our participation is at an all-time high," he said. "There's so much interest in wanting to get involved in racing right now."
Ashford Stud's Corniche led all freshman sires represented by two or more sold with a $650,000 average from four sold.
Gainesway's Drain the Clock was another first-crop sire whose progeny generated a lot of buzz during the under-tack shows and throughout the auction. His top offering was Hip 132, a New York-bred colt purchased for $1.1 million by Pedro Lanz, agent for KAS Stables, out of the De Meric Sales consignment. Lanz also purchased the sire's second-highest-priced offering, a $700,000 colt (Hip 442) he bought from Jimbo and Torie Gladwell's Top Line Sales.
Hideyuki Mori ended as the sale's leading buyer, purchasing nine juveniles for a total of $2.4 million. His top purchase came on Day 3, when he purchased a filly (Hip 698) by 2022 Horse of the Year and Lane's End first-crop sire Flightline for $775,000. Breezing a furlong in :10 for consignor Wavertree, the filly was bred in Kentucky by Pursuit of Success out of grade 1 winner Dalika.
The final session was topped by a Yaupon colt, who brought $1 million from Three Amigos, the team of longtime partners Mike Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman. The colt, consigned as Hip 576 by King's Equine, breezed a furlong in :09 4/5 during the under-tack show. He was bred in Kentucky by Cem Ozbelge.
A total of 130 horses sold on Day 3 for gross receipts of $19,396,500, including private sales. The average price was $149,204, with a median of $77,500. Forty-seven horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 26.6%.
OBS now sets its sights on its upcoming Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training to be held April 14-17. The under-tack shows will be held April 6-11.
