The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced a catalog of 139 head for its Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale on August 21 at Lone Star Park. There are 102 yearlings in the catalog with a mixed session of 37 head. The catalog is nearly identical in size to last year’s, which offered 105 yearlings and 37 head in the mixed session. This will mark the second yearling sale operated by the Texas Thoroughbred Association after it took over operation of the Texas auctions from Fasig-Tipton. View the online catalog here.

Leading Texas sire Too Much Bling is well represented in the sale with 10 yearlings, and there are eight yearlings and three weanlings from the first crops of Texas stallion Moro Tap, a son of Tapit and half brother to Grade 1 winner Ascend. Top regional sires including Custom for Carlos, Grasshopper, Half Ours, My Golden Song and Songandaprayer are represented, as are national prominent stallions Strong Mandate, Graydar, Majesticperfection, Take Charge Indy, Sky Mesa, Stay Thirsty, Liaison and Overanalyze.

All yearling graduates of this sale will be eligible for the 2018 Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity to be run in two divisions at Lone Star Park. The 2017 editions of the race were run on Saturday, and both were won by horses who had been through the Texas Summer Yearling Sale and the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

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Texas Chrome becomes a millionaire (Photo by Dustin Orona Photography)

Prior to the $50,000 Assault Stakes on July 22 at Lone Star Park, Texas Chrome had already put himself in an elite class among Texas-breds with a pair of graded stakes wins and five other graded stakes placings. But after prevailing by 1 ¼ lengths in the Assault, he joined Groovy and become just the second Texas-bred to ever earn $1 million.

Ridden by Richard Eramia for trainer Allen Milligan owner Danny Keene’s Keene Thoroughbreds LLC, Texas Chrome improved his record to 20-9-4-3 with earnings of $1,020,762.

“I wanted to bring him back here (Texas) to reach $1 million in earnings,” said Keene. “He has a following here. The people here seem to really care about him and like to watch him race, so what better place.”

Keene purchased Texas Chrome for $10,000 at the Texas Summer Yearling Sale in 2014 from the consignment of Craig Upham and Sue Dowling’s Stoneview Farm. Upham also bred Texas Chrome out of the Texas-bred mare Margarita Mistress, who is by the late Texas stallion and former Stoneview resident Naevus. Texas Chrome’s sire, Grasshopper, previously stood at Lane’s End Texas and now stands at Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas.

Named the 2015 Texas Champion 2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding and 2016 Texas Horse of the Year and Champion 3-Year-Old/Gelding, Texas Chrome has raced at 10 different racetracks. He has won two Grade 3 stakes, the Super Derby at Louisiana Downs and Oklahoma Derby at Remington Park, and has placed in five other graded stakes. His stakes victories also include the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity and a division of the Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes at Lone Star. In his most recent start he finished second in the Grade 3 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap.

Texas Chrome at the Breeders’ Cup (Photo by Steve Queen)

Texas has a long history of producing exceptional racehorses, including 1946 Triple Crown winner Assault, 1950 Kentucky Derby winner Middleground and legendary racemare Pan Zareta. However, the state has only produced a single millionaire in Groovy, the 1987 Eclipse Award winner for Champion Sprinter who banked more than $1.3 million. That could change on Saturday at Lone Star Park after Texas Chrome runs in the $50,000 Assault Stakes against his fellow Texas-breds. The 4-year-old colt by Grasshopper enters with earnings of $990,762 and will hit seven figures with a win or second-place finish.

“I wanted to bring him back here (Texas) to reach $1 million in earnings,” said owner Danny Keene. “He has a following here. The people here seem to really care about him and like to watch him race, so what better place.”

Keene purchased Texas Chrome for $10,000 at the Texas Summer Yearling Sale in 2014 from the consignment of Craig Upham and Sue Dowling’s Stoneview Farm. Upham also bred Texas Chrome out of the Texas-bred mare Margarita Mistress, who is by the late Texas stallion and former Stoneview resident Naevus. Texas Chrome’s sire, Grasshopper, previously stood at Lane’s End Texas and now stands at Valor Farm in Pilot Point, Texas.

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Direct Dial (Photo by Coady Photography)

Eight juvenile colts each looking to pick up their first graded stakes win will battle in the 103rd running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Sanford on Saturday at Saratoga Race Course. The morning line favorite is Texas-bred Direct Dial at son of Texas stallion Too Much Bling of Valor Farm who sold for $105,000 at last year’s Texas Summer Yearling Sale.

Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen will enter a formidable pair in Baffin for owners Corinne and William Heiligbrodt and Direct Dial for owner William Farish. Purchased for $170,000 as yearling at the Ocala Breeders’ Sale and a son of multiple graded stakes winner Justin Phillip, Baffin made his debut on June 22 at Churchill Downs besting a field of nine to win by an impressive 4 ¾ lengths.

“Baffin broke his maiden very impressively at Churchill in his only start,” said Asmussen. “I’m kind of concerned if he got enough out of it. He won very easily and is now stepping up into a stakes [race] but I think he deserves the opportunity.”

“Direct Dial has two nice races in him. A win at Keeneland and a nice second-place finish in the Tremont. I feel very good about how both have trained up here at Saratoga as well. Justin Phillip has been a very good horse for us and this is very first crop [so] it’s kind of exciting to see him pass that talent along.”

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Direct Dial (Photo by Coady Photography)

Texas-bred Direct Dial, a colt by leading Texas stallion Too Much Bling of Valor Farm, rolled to a 7 ¾-length win on April 26 in a $60,000 maiden special weight race at Keeneland. Ridden by Florent Geroux for trainer Steve Asmussen and breeder/owner W.S. Farish, the 2-year-old clocked 4 ½ furlongs in a quick :51.65 in his career debut.

Direct Dial, who was prepped at Keith and Marilyn Asmussen’s El Primero Training Center in Laredo, Texas, earned $36,000 for the win. He sold for $105,000 to top last year’s Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale at Lone Star Park.

Direct Dial is out of the Mineshaft mare Fast Find, who has produced three other winners by Too Much Bling: $71,434 earner She has Bling, $88,232 earner and Texas Thoroughbred Futurity winner Shaded, and $113,006 earner and Bara Lass Stakes winner Scooter’s Choice.

Fast Find, in foal to Too Much Bling, also went through that same sale at Lone Star, where she sold from Lane’s End Texas to Ken Carson, agent.

To view a video of Direct Dial’s race, click here and select race 2 on April 26.

The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced that the Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale will be held Monday, August 21, at the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park.

Last year’s auction marked the first to be operated by the Texas Thoroughbred Association in partnership with Lone Star Park and recorded substantial increases over the final Texas yearling sale operated by Fasig-Tipton in 2014. The sale-topper was a Texas-bred colt by leading Texas sire Too Much Bling who sold for $105,000.

“After not having a yearling sale in Texas in 2015, I think the results last year proved that there is still ample demand from buyers and quality stock being offered by consignors,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “With this spot on the calendar we expect to be able to draw horses from all around the region, and the central location of Dallas-Fort Worth makes it easy for buyers and sellers to get here.”

“Our 2-year-old sale last year has already produced several stakes winners, and over the years this yearling sale has done the same, mostly recently with multiple graded stakes winner Texas Chrome, so we look forward to having another quality catalog this year,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA.

Hip 92 (Photo from Lane’s End Texas)

A Texas-bred colt by Too Much Bling sold for $105,000 on August 29 to top the Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale held at Lone Star Park. The auction, held by the Texas Thoroughbred Association in partnership with Lone Star Park, marked the first Texas yearling sale since Fasig-Tipton held one at the same location in 2014.

The yearling session recorded gross sales of $611,800 with 63 of 92 head sold for an average of $9,711 and median of $2,500. The buyback rate was 31.5 percent. Those results compare favorably to the last Texas sale, when 79 of 120 yearlings sold for $578,600 with an average of $7,324 and median of $4,200.

The mixed session this year, which included a dispersal of stock from Lane’s End Texas, recorded 28 sold for $167,700 with an average of $5,989 and median of $2,700.

“We had a few high dollar RNAs that would have really boosted the average if they had sold, but we are pleased to have a yearling average of close to $10,000 for the relaunch of this sale,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “That is considerably higher than the last yearling sale held here in 2014 by Fasig-Tipton, and I think it shows that there can still be a viable auction here for Texas horsemen and those in the surrounding region. We are looking forward to having our second 2-year-olds in training sale this spring.”

The sale had to pause for a short time during the yearling session as a strong thunderstorm passed through the area. The delay was to ensure the safety of the horses and handlers, and the TTA and Lone Star Park provided an open bar for attendees during that time.

“Given the market conditions now, I think we can be somewhat accepting of the results, as far as the buybacks,” said Tim Boyce, who managed the sale for the TTA. “It’s higher than we’d like to have, but given the fact that we kind of reopened this market, it’s almost like we’re starting over a little bit.”

Trainer Danny Pish purchased the $105,000 sale-topper from the consignment of Lane’s End Texas, agent. The colt is out of the Mineshaft mare Fast Find, who has produced two stakes winners by Too Much Bling, Scooter’s Choice and Shaded. The second-highest price was also a Texas-bred by Too Much Bling consigned by Lane’s End Texas. The filly out of the stakes-producing Geri mare Red Cell went to Keith Asmussen.

Too Much Bling formerly stood at Lane’s End Texas and for the 2017 breeding season has been relocated to Valor Farm near Pilot Point, Texas.

A colt by Uncle Mo went to $155,000 during the yearling session but did not meet its reserve.

In the mixed session, two broodmares sold for $45,000 to Ken Carson, agent, as the highest price. One was Paddle Out, a daughter of Valid Expectations in foal to Congaree, and the other was Fast Find, the dam of the sale-topper.

The Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale will return in the spring with a date to be announced.

For complete results, click here.

Live video of the Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed sale will be available starting at 12 noon on Monday, August 29. The auction will be held at the Texas Thoroughbred Sale Pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park near Dallas. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE LIVE VIDEO.

TTA office staff will be traveling to the Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale on Saturday, August 27 and will be back in the Austin office on Wednesday, August 31.

The Sale Office phone number is 972.237.4886 and fax number is 972.237.5257. Sales Director Tim Boyce may be reached at 972.523.0332 and Mary Ruyle may be reached at 512.695.4542.

DO NOT FAX ANY SALE-RELATED DOCUMENTS TO THE TTA OFFICE (512.453.5919) AFTER 4PM ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 26TH – – SEND YOUR FAX TO 972.237.5257.