OBS reschedules Spring Sale of two-year-olds due to the coronavirus

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ocala Breeders' Sales has rescheduled its Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training from April 21-24 to June 9-12, using some of the dates originally set aside for the June Two-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale.

OBS director of sales Tod Wojciechowski said: "As we all continue to deal with the current circumstances, we need to balance a sense of social responsibility with providing our consignors the best opportunity to market their horses and give buyers the best place to obtain them."

The Spring Sale under-tack show is set for Sunday through Saturday, May 31-June 6, beginning at 7.30 am Eastern Time each day. The catalogue will stay intact with the original horses hip numbered for the sale.

The June Sale is now scheduled for Tuesday through Thursday, July 14-17. The under-tack show will be held on July 6-11. The under-tack sessions will all begin at 7.30am.

In an effort to provide another opportunity to buy and sell two-year-olds, OBS said it is considering adding a two-year-old in training session to the October Yearling Sale, presently scheduled for October 6-9.

The action by the OBS board on Tuesday is the latest reconfiguration of the two-year-old sale market as a result of the pandemic.

During the traditional March to June juvenile sale season last year, sales grossed a record-setting $207 million for 2,172 horses and the overall average was the second-highest ever at $95,302, according to BloodHorse MarketWatch data.

The OBS Spring Sale is considered the juvenile sales equivalent to the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in its impact on the industry.

According to revised OBS figures, from 1,221 head catalogued for last year's sale, 840 horses went through the ring with 674 selling for record gross receipts of $73m, compared with $68.5m in 2018. Both average and median prices reached record levels of $108,227 and $60,000, respectively.

During OBS' recent March sale, receipts totalled $27.9m for the 291 horses sold at an average of $95,885 and median of $50,000, compared with 306 horses changing hands for a cumulative $44.2m, an average of $144,603, and median of $80,000.

Fasig-Tipton and the Stronach Group cancelled the Gulfstream Sale, a select sale of two-year-olds in training, that was scheduled for April 1 at Gulfstream Park. Keeneland cancelled its April Two-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale (along with its spring race meet) that was to be held April 7 and the Texas Thoroughbred Association cancelled its April 3 auction. Keeneland officials have said they will work with other sales companies in an effort to find a spot on the calendar for its cancelled sale.

As a result of the Gulfstream Sale cancellation, Fasig-Tipton added a June 24-25 sale at its Midlantic operations at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland. Fasig-Tipton also pushed the Midlantic two-year-old sale, traditionally held the week after the Preakness Stakes, back by a week to May 26-27.

The two-year-old sale season historically ends before the start of the yearling sales, the first of which is the July Sale, Fasig-Tipton's selected sale set for July 13-14. Pinhookers who buy to re-sell as two-year-olds have a major impact on the yearling market.

But every aspect of daily life has been disrupted due to Covid-19 and navigating the pandemic remains uncharted territory for thoroughbred sellers and buyers.

"We're going to deal with what's handed to us," said Torie Gladwell, who owns and operates Top Line Sales with her husband Jimbo Gladwell. "Our horses were ready for April and were ready for Gulfstream. We've turned out some and backed some up (in their training)."

Gladwell said Top Line has had some private sales of two-year-olds who were destined for public auction.

"That's always great," Gladwell said. "And it's not just our cheaper horses. It's our top, top horses and people are still willing to give a little bit of money for those. Hopefully, they will pass their vet inspections and we can get them traded and some money rolling in for our clients."

With Gulfstream Park scheduling its first two-year-old races in April, Gladwell said kick-starting the careers of juveniles pre-sale is an option for some Top Line sale prospects that are already close to making their first race start.

"We're just going with the flow and doing whatever we can to get by," Gladwell said. "Everybody is really worried about the two-year-old sales because we are major players in the yearling market and if we're not able to make money on our end it's going to trickle down to other markets, including yearlings and weanlings. So everybody is kind of holding their breath right now and see what's going to happen."

Gladwell said a rebound in the stock market Tuesday was also a positive sign going forward.

"It's encouraging that the Dow was up 2,000 points today so that was very positive for a lot of people," she said. "The major players are financed in the stock market as well as the horse market, so I think that will help boost the economy overall."

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