Hopes High Ahead of Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Sale

Following a record-setting The Saratoga Sale, Fasig-Tipton’s select yearling sale, more than 270 New York-bred yearlings are cataloged to go through the ring Aug. 10-11 for the Fasig-Tipton New York-Bred Yearling Sale, and buyers, consignors, and executives are hoping that the momentum from earlier this week will be sustained.

While no one expects the same kind of fireworks that the select sale produced, with a sale topper of $4.1 million and a record 25 horses selling for $1 million or more, a favorable landscape for racing and breeding in New York, along with federal tax incentives, set an inviting table at which buyers might well be expected to feast. Eight New York-breds sold at the Saratoga sale for an average of $364,375.

Beginning Jan. 1, the New York Racing Association will offer purse parity for New York-bred overnight 2-year-olds racing at Aqueduct Racetrack, Belmont Park, and Saratoga Race Course, with purse money equaling that offered for open-company races. The following year, all New York-bred overnight races at NYRA tracks will be run for the same purse money as their open-company counterparts. 

“Now is the time to breed and race in New York,” said Najja Thompson, the executive director of New York Thoroughbred Breeders. “Every yearling sold in this sale will be eligible for purse parity when they hit the racetrack on the New York Racing Association circuit. And, of course, we’ve worked with our stakeholders to provide unprecedented incentives for New York-breds with increased breeders’ awards.”

“Now that we’ve got purse parity, I don’t see why that wouldn’t bring 10% more, ” said Mike McMahon, founder of and partner in McMahon and Hill Bloodstock, of potential sale prices.

Early Friday afternoon, the seven horses in Lili Kobielski’s consignment for The New Hill Farm had all been shown 40 times.

“We’re obviously very excited by the results of the main sale,” Kobielski said. “I would imagine that the momentum will keep rolling, and hopefully, some people got outbid at that sale and want to come here to buy.”  

Four of Kobielski’s seven consignees are by first-crop sires: Epicenter  , Mo Donegal  , Golden Pal  , and Cyberknife  . 

“It’s exciting,” she said. “This industry is built on hope. It’s what we all run on. There’s always a premium for new stallions and dreaming of them being the next thing. I love having first-crop horses.” 

Like Kobielski, Bill Johnson at Turning Point Bloodstock had had a busy morning.

“I think we’ve had as many shows this morning as I’ve ever had at this sale,” he said. “It was a lot of fun watching those horses get sold, and it showed that the market is still live. We’re optimistic that that will carry over.” 

While McMahon thought that traffic might have been a little lighter than usual on the first day of showing, he attributed that to the decision made by three consignors—Indian Creek, Taylor Made Sales Agency, and Denali Stud—to offer “express lane” shows on the day that yearlings shipped in. 

“There were probably 50 people watching each one of those shows, which is good,” he said. “There were people from racing stables, from pinhookers, agents, owners, and I thought it was a really good turnout.”

“Our thought was that it would maybe help buyers, and it also helps lighten the load a little bit on the horses,” Indian Creek’s Sarah Sutherland said. “It’s also a nice thing to do when horses ship in. We’re going to be getting them out to stretch their legs and walk in the afternoon, so it just makes a lot of sense for us.” 

Consignors also credited recent federal legislation that makes permanent the 100% depreciation tax benefit for owners of Thoroughbreds with spurring trade in the auction ring. 

New York-bred owners can also look forward to having a third surface to run on when Belmont Park reopens next year with its synthetic track.

“We’re seeing the results of our efforts to encourage racing and breeding in New York,” Thompson said. “We’re hoping that continues on to a new Belmont Park in September 2026.”