'We saw unbelievable depth in bidding activity on a tremendous amount of horses'

The single day of selling July 11 at Fasig-Tipton's July Selected Horses of All Ages Sale can be described in one word — tremendous.

WinStar Racing consigned the day's sale topper Kuchar, who commanded a final bid of $500,000 from agent Steve Young. The day saw consistent energy from start to finish, with a broad and competitive cross-section of buyers.

Fasig-Tipton's president and CEO Boyd Browning Jr. said on Monday evening: "I think it was even stronger than we had anticipated. We have seen great demand for horses active on the racetrack with good current form."

At the close of business, 129 of the 159 horses offered had sold for gross receipts of $10,814,000, at an average price of $83,829 and a median of $58,000. Thirty horses failed to meet their reserve to represent an RNA rate of 18.9 per cent.

"We saw an unbelievable depth in bidding activity on a tremendous amount of horses through the ring," said Browning. "There was lots of activity; we had east coast, west coast and international participation, which is encouraging."

At last year's editions of the Horses of Racing Age and Breeding Stock sales, which were held on the same day, there was a combined total of 123 horses who were sold of the 156 on offer for final figures of $7,917,500 gross, an average price of $64,369 and a median of $40,000; 33 horses failed to meet their reserve to represent an RNA rate of 21.1 per cent.

Browning added: "We had a robust marketplace overall, and the best part was the depth of the buying bench. Buyers were coming into the sales office complaining that they used to be able to come to this sale and buy what they wanted and this year are getting blown out of the water, which is nice to hear for our sellers and owners."

Leading the sale with a $500,000 price tag was Kuchar, a three-year-old son of Uncle Mo. He became stakes-placed this year in both the Oaklawn Stakes and, most recently, the American Derby at Churchill Downs on July 2.

Kuchar takes his turn in the ringCredit: Fasig-Tipton Photos

"The market is good; people want racehorses," said WinStar's president/CEO and racing manager Elliott Walden after the sale of Hip 547, "with purses the way they are and with the race meet at Saratoga getting ready to start.

"Purses have been increased here in Kentucky at Churchill Downs and Keeneland, and they are strong at Ellis Park and Kentucky Downs as well. It's good that people want horses."

Steve Young, purchasing as agent, completed the single-day session as the leading buyer with four purchases made for $1,265,000 at an average price of $316,250.

He said: "I think it's like any other horses-of-racing age sale. You look at them after the fact, and many of them are a lot more than you would foresee, but with the purses the way they are in places like Kentucky and New York, horses that are running are worth a lot of money."

ELiTE sold 22 of the 22 on offer Monday to be the day's top consignor, with receipts of $2,573,000 and an average of $116,955 per horse sold.

Browning added: "Overall, it was a very encouraging day. We are somewhere between very happy and thrilled with the results."

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