A sale which is Taylor Made for both business and pleasure

For even the largest of consignors at Fasig-Tipton’s Saratoga Sale, there is pleasure mixed in with the business during the balmy days of early August.

And in the case of Mark Taylor, one of the family involved in running the Kentucky institution Taylor Made, it became something of a rite of passage.

"I can remember going up there when I was in high school, so late 80s for sure, and my brothers may have done a few years before that," recalls the vice president of marketing and public sales operations.

"Our father [Joe] was the general manager of Gainesway Farms so every summer that was a trek we made. I can remember being a little kid and everyone was looking forward to going to Saratoga, it was kind of a vacation but a working one - my dad had us out there mucking stalls, walking horses and grooming and doing whatever needed to be done. It was the highlight of the summer before you had to go back to school."

Clearly there are few better-placed to describe the scene than Taylor. His firm dwarfs its modern-day competitors here, easily leading the way on aggregate last year and selling the sales-topping Medaglia D'Oro colt from the family of the brilliant Songbird for $1.35 million.

Saratoga is one of the most atmospheric stops on the sales circuitCredit: Fasig-Tipton Photos

"It’s a really unique stop on the sales calendar for American breeders and buyers every year," he says. "You’ve got an elite race meeting going on just half a mile down the road and you’ve got a great place to visit for breeders and their families.

"A lot of our customers might have let’s say ten to 20 broodmares - they’re going to take most of them to Keeneland September but if they have one that fits Saratoga, they like to go up there. It’s got a lot of history and the racing is incredible, there are great restaurants and there’s a lot to do outside of the sale. Their tagline used to be ’Saratoga, the August place to be’ and, on the East Coast, it kind of is."

So what is a horse that fits Saratoga? "It’s all about conformation really," explains Taylor. "You have to have enough pedigree to get in the sale; they’re not going to take a horse that has no pedigree, but you want to take a horse up there that’s really hard to pick apart.

"At Keeneland September, say Book 1 and 2, it might be looked at by the buyer say three times before they bid on it. At Saratoga I’d say it’s more like five or six times because it’s a lot more leisurely, it’s a smaller catalogue, people have time on their hands as opposed to 'hey we’ve got numbers, we’ve got to keep moving'.

"So you need to have a horse that if it gets inspected six times by a potential buyer, they continue to like the horse, there have not got to be flaws in them that you pick apart, so that’s really the big thing."

Among the 30-plus draft for this year, which include Medaglia D’Oros, Curlins and American Pharoahs, is one which stands out from the crowd as Taylor Made is responsible for the only Galileo in the sale. Mark Taylor explains that it reflects the change in the global racing mood.

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"With an emergence of more emphasis on turf racing in America - that really seems to be a trend, and a lot of big money up for these pots, I think it’s more en-vogue for big American buyers to buy horses that they think might be grass horses than it was before. And as we’ve seen with War Of Will and Omaha Beach this year, a lot of the time horses who were bought thinking they might have a tendency to be grass, next thing you know you have a great dirt horse.

"It’s a great trend in racing that more Americans want to go to Europe and run, more Europeans are sending horses over here to run for big purses. There seems to be a lot more exchange of competition, both ways."

And of the colt himself, Taylor surmises: "I haven’t seen enough Galileos to know if he’s typical or not but the horse has just this magnificent walk. We’ve got 175 yearlings on the farm and none of them walk like this horse does. He just devours the ground. But he’s a strong, robust horse that if I didn’t know he was a Galileo, I would look at him and wouldn’t say he was exclusively grass either. He’s got some substance, a hind-quarter to him that American buyers typically gravitate towards.

"When you see him move, you’re going to be attracted to him no matter who you are or where you’re from. We’ll learn from it anyway, if he goes up and doesn’t go well, we’ll be hesitant to take a horse like him back up there again, but we wanted to really make a statement with him that hey, he’s a really good horse no matter where you run. We’re going to put him on display and see if we’re right."

Taylor Made has prepared countless marquee names for Saratoga over the years, such as Triple Crown hero American Pharoah and explosive juvenile Vindication, while one of its most recent exhibits, the Watercress Farm-bred Rushing Fall, has taken the turf miling division by storm.

There is added excitement this time around as included in the consignment are a couple from the first crop of yearlings by California Chrome, the Dubai World Cup and Kentucky Derby hero who stands at Taylor Made Farm.

Taylor Made will be offering yearlings by its own California ChromeCredit: Michele MacDonald

"We’re excited to bring the Chromes to market," said Taylor. "From what I’ve seen, he’s putting a lot of quality into his babies and I think there’s a lot of interest, just because he was an amazing racehorse and had such charisma. A lot of the people are kind of chomping at the bit wanting to see them, and also wanting to buy one and see what it can do.

"When you’re around him, he just puts off this aura like he’s the man. He’s a ham for the camera, as soon as you come round with one he’s on his hind legs, putting on a show."

While Taylor would love visitors to take a look at his yearlings, he suggests newcomers simply make the most of their time in this beloved corner of New York State.

"The track is what I refer to as arrogantly shabby, it’s not fancy, it’s not modern, but with those iconic red and white tents they have out by the paddock, you feel like you’re stepping back in time and you can imagine people in the 1920s walking around up there," he says.

"Saratoga became popular because it would get so much hotter down in New York City, they came because you could get away from the heat. With the spas and mineral baths, a kind of old-school town sprung up. It’s just an amazing place."

Click here to read our supplement for the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga August Yearling Sale, packed with must-read features and essential sales information