Louisiana-bred Filly Posts Fastest Time in Advance of Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale

A Louisiana-bred filly by Bind worked an eighth-mile in :10 flat as the fastest time in Monday’s under tack show for the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale at Lone Star Park. The breeze show was held under sunny skies with a steady headwind throughout the day. The sale is set for Wednesday at 12 noon. CLICK HERE for a list of breeze show times.

To view videos from the under tack show, CLICK HERE and select the individual hip you want to view from the interactive catalog. Or CLICK HERE to watch the entire breeze show in hip number order.

Hip 57

Consigned by Pike Racing, agent, Hip 57 was the sixth horse to breeze in the under tack show. The February 27 foal, named Wupkar, is out of the Songandaprayer mare Anne Margaret, who has produced four winners. Two of those winners are stakes-placed, including $346,012 earner Adrianne G.

A single horse worked a quarter-mile, with Hip 113, an Ohio-bred colt by Midshipman, clocking the distance in :24 4/5.

“We had a nice crowd on hand today with more people in attendance than I remember over the past several years,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We had some very strong works on the track, despite a pretty solid headwind.”

Videos of the under tack show will be posted later this evening.

More than 120 Horses Consigned to Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale

The catalogue is now available for the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale with more than 120 head consigned to the auction set for Wednesday, April 7, at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. The under tack show will be held Monday, April 5, at Lone Star, which co-sponsors the sale with the Texas Thoroughbred Association.

CLICK HERE to view the online catalog.

CLICK HERE for more info about online bidding and to register.

“After being forced to cancel last year’s 2-year-old sale due to COVID-19, we are very pleased to get back on track this year, especially with the excitement from the increased overnight purses in Texas and the strong stakes schedule coming up at Lone Star Park,” said Tim Boyce, sales director.

First-year sires Klimt, Practical Joke, Lord Nelson, Gormley and Midnight Storm lead a strong stallion list, along with Texas freshman stallions Texas Chrome and Eagle. National and international sire power should be enticing to all buyers with Bernardini, California Chrome, Honor Code, Kitten’s Joy, Maclean’s Music, Malibu Moon and Street Sense among those represented. As usual, offspring of many of the Southwest’s top sires are in the sale, including Bradester, Custom for Carlos, Den’s Legacy, Half Ours, My Golden Song and Star Guitar.

The mailing of catalogues was delayed due to February’s winter weather in Texas, but copies are expected to mail next week. The complete catalogue is now online, and as the sale approaches photos will be posted along with videos following the under tack show. Online bidding will again be available, and interested bidders can register now.

“After being forced to cancel last year’s 2-year-old due to COVID-19, we are very pleased to get back on track this year, especially with the excitement from the increased overnight purses in Texas and the strong stakes schedule coming up at Lone Star Park,” said Tim Boyce, sales director.

First-year sires Klimt, Practical Joke, Lord Nelson, Gormley, and Midnight Storm lead a strong sire list with local first year sires Texas Chrome and Eagle. National sire power should be enticing to all buyers with Bernardini, California Chrome, Honor Code, Kitten’s Joy, Maclean’s Music, Malibu Moon and Street Sense. As usual, many of the Southwest’s top sires are represented in the sale, including Bradester, Custom for Carlos, Den’s Legacy, Half Ours, My Golden Song and Star Guitar. The mailing of catalogues was delayed due to February’s winter weather in Texas, but copies are expected to mail next week. The complete catalogue is now online, and as the sale approaches photos will be posted along with videos after the under tack show. Online bidding will again be available, and interested bidders can register now.

Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Set for April 7, 2021

The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie have announced that the 2021 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale will be held on Wednesday, April 7, at the Dallas-area track. The breeze show will be held Monday, April 5.

The sale will be held about two weeks before Lone Star Park kicks off its expanded Thoroughbred meet with 48 days of racing starting on April 22. The track has announced an enhanced stakes schedule worth more than $2.2 million and the revival of Lone Star Million Day. As usual, the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity, for TTA Sales graduates and those made eligible through a consignor berth, will be held at Lone Star with two divisions at $100,000-estimated apiece.

“With daily purses at Lone Star expected to be around $250,000 and maiden races at $36,000, this sale will offer buyers the chance to get an almost immediate return on their investment,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “In addition to the Sales Futurity in July, Lone Star will be running two divisions of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes for 2-year-olds in June, so that’s another opportunity for Texas-sired horses.”

The entry deadline for the 2-year-old sale is January 15, 2021. Click here to download the consignment form.

Texas Summer Yearling Sale Adds Horses of Racing Age Session

The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park have announced that the upcoming Texas Summer Yearling Sale on August 24 will now include a horses of racing age session in lieu of having broodmares and weanlings. For this year only, the mixed session will only be open to 2-year-olds and older horses of racing age. The change is due to the cancellation of the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, which could not be held due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“After talking to consignors, we found there was strong demand for a horses of racing age session, especially for 2-year-olds,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We realize these are unique times for consignors and buyers, so we are working to support them by being flexible with the format of this sale. For any 2-year-olds who have published works, we will include those on the sale website along with any videos that consignors wish to provide. And if we have enough demand for an under tack show, we will work to make that happen prior to the sale.”

The entry deadline for the sale is June 15, and consignment contracts are being mailed soon. Click here to download a consignment contract.

Texas 2-Year-Old Sale Cancelled, Consignments to be Promoted Online

The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park have announced that the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale scheduled for April 3 has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. All entry fees for the sale will be refunded.

It was also announced that all horses currently nominated to the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity at Lone Star Park will remain eligible provided the final payment of $350 is made. All horses entered in the 2-year-old sale will be considered to have passed through the sales ring for the purposes of eligibility for the race. Additionally, the April 15 due date for the final payment has been pushed back to May 15. The Texas Thoroughbred Futurity, with a fillies and colts/geldings division for a $100,000-estimated purse apiece, is scheduled for July 12 at Lone Star. The TTA and Lone Star will make a future announcement should a date change be needed.

“We are obviously disappointed to cancel this sale, especially with a record number of consignments, but it’s really the only option at this point and postponing the sale simply was not feasible,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “We are leaving the sale catalogue online and making some enhancements so that potential buyers can view photos and videos submitted by consignors and make contact to negotiate private sales.”

In the coming weeks, the TTA will accept photos and videos from consignors to be added to the sale website at www.ttasales.com. The online repository will also be opened to help consignors market their horses. Each consignor’s contact information will be listed so that buyers can make direct contact about a private sale. The TTA will not track or collect commissions on any private sales.

“We feel this was probably the best group of horses to be catalogued to this sale in over a decade, so we encourage potential buyers to view the horses being offered,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We truly appreciate all the support from consignors, so we are working to make the best of this situation and help buyers and sellers get connected.” The Texas Summer Yearling Sale is set for August 24 at Lone Star and will also include a horses of racing age session.

Click here to view the catalog.

Incentive and Bonus Programs Announced for Texas 2-Year-Olds and Horses of Racing Age Sale

The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced two new programs to make buying, selling and racing horses in Texas more lucrative for horsemen. The Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale, set for April 3 at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie, will offer a rebate program for consignors and a purse bonus program for graduates of the sale.

Thanks for the passage of H.B. 2463, which injects up to $25 million annually into the Texas horse industry, funds are available that will be used to rebate up to half of the $500 consignment fee for ALL horses entered in the sale who pass through the ring, even those that are not Texas-breds.

ALL sale graduates (horses that pass through the ring), again including horses not bred in Texas, will be eligible for a purse bonus program with money paid out to owners of horses finishing first, second or third in any races at Texas tracks in 2020. The amount of the bonus payouts will be based on a percentage of purse earnings which will depend on the number of eligible horses hitting the board in Texas races, but it will be administered similarly to the Accredited Texas-Bred Program with the money being paid out in January 2021 for all races through December 31, 2020.

“The goal of these new programs is to encourage horsemen to buy and sell their horses in Texas, and then to keep those horses racing in Texas to add to what already creates a significant impact on the state’s agricultural and overall economy,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “We’ve already seen more interest in Texas racing and breeding with the boosted purse structure at the current Sam Houston Race Park meet. We expect that to continue at Lone Star Park and Retama Park, and we believe these programs will only enhance that interest and participation.”

Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale Set for April 3

The 2020 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training and Horses of Racing Age Sale has been scheduled for Friday, April 3, at Lone Star Park. The breeze show will be held at the Dallas-area track on Wednesday, April 1. The auction is a joint venture by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park.

“Our yearling and mixed sale at Lone Star Park in August had gross sales and average prices both jumping by more than 20 percent, and we expect that momentum to continue into the 2-year-old sale,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “The Southwest area has been strong for many years, and now with this very important legislation recently passed to boost the industry in Texas the region will get even stronger.”

Sale graduates will be eligible for the 2020 Texas Thoroughbred Futurity to be run in divisions for fillies and colts/geldings at Lone Star in July. The estimated purse for each division is $100,000.

“With new legislation passed to enhance purse money at Texas tracks and funds for the Accredited Texas-bred program, there is a lot of optimism for 2020 and beyond,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “We’ve already noticed an uptick in interest as breeding season approaches, so that bodes well for the future of Texas racing and breeding.”

The entry deadline for the sale is January 15, 2020. Click here for the consignment contract.

Fillies Set Pace at Texas 2-Year-Old Sale

Hip 21 (Photo by Denis Blake/Texas Thoroughbred Association)

After four fillies tied for the fastest time during Sunday’s under tack show at Lone Star Park, fillies again took center stage in Wednesday’s Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale with the five highest prices. The auction, sponsored by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park, was held at the Dallas-area track.

From 110 horses going through the ring, 75 head sold for a total of $1,751,400. The median was $14,500, up 10.69% from last year’s $13,100, and the average dipped 9.27% from $25,737 to $23,352. Buy-backs at this year’s sale came in at 31.82% compared to 20.75% last year when 84 of 106 head sold for a total of $2,161,900.

“Overall we were pretty pleased with the results,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “I’m happy to see that the median jumped up. Last year we had four horses break $100,000 compared to two this year, so that affected the average a bit but there was strong demand in the middle of the market as evidenced by the median going up. I heard from several horsemen today who said they were impressed by the quality of horses brought by our consignors.”

Hip 21, a daughter of Street Boss who worked an eighth-mile in :10.3 in Sunday’s under tack show, topped the sale with a $150,000 bid from Maui James. Consigned by Asmussen Horse Center, agent, the unnamed Kentucky-bred is the first foal out of the winning Successful Appeal mare I Have a Price.

Maui James was the leading buyer with two purchases for $203,000 with Danny Keene ranking second with four bought for $171,000.

The second-highest price was for hip 131, All in Harmony. The Kentucky-bred filly by Palace Malice went for $140,000 to Carl R. Moore Management LLC from the consignment of Twin Oaks Training Center LLC, agent. She is out of the Tale of the Cat mare Cativating and worked a furlong in :10.3.

The highest-priced male, and sixth-highest overall, was hip 129. The Oklahoma-bred colt named Duffield and sired by Kennedy sold for $62,000 from Bryan Ford, agent, to John James.

For complete results in the interactive catalog, click here. Or to view the results as a PDF, click here.

Videos and Photos for Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Now Online

Videos and photos for all the horses in Sunday’s under tack show at Lone Star Park for the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale are now online. The auction is set for Wednesday, April 10 at 12 noon and will have live video available right here on the TTA Sales website.

To view individual videos and photos of each horse, go to the interactive sale catalog by clicking here. Simply click on any hip to view the video and photo for that horse, or scroll to the bottom of the interactive catalog to view a listing of all videos and photos.

You can also view a complete video of the entire under tack show in hip number order by clicking here.