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Yearlings by Vekoma, Gunite, and Mage headline the 2026 Texas Summer Yearling Sale Catalog

by Posted in Mixed Sale, Yearling Sale

Yearlings by the leading third-crop stallion Vekoma and top-ten freshman stallions Nashville and Cyberknife, as well as yearlings by Army Mule, Dialed In, Jackie’s Warrior, and leading regional stallions Aurelius Maximus, Creative Cause, and Shoplifted are represented in the 2026 Texas Summer Yearling Sale catalog.

First crop stallions Gunite, Fulsome, Pappacap, Zandon, and Kentucky Derby winner Mage also have yearlings in the catalog. In total, 148 yearlings are cataloged to sell at the 2026 Texas Summer Yearling Sale on August 25th at The Mary Ruyle Sales Pavilion at Lone Star Park in Grand Prairie, Texas.

“We’re thrilled with the diversity and quality that we’ve attracted to our 2026 Texas Summer Yearling Sale,” Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Director Foster Bridewell said. “We have yearlings by featured national and regional stallions as well as siblings to stakes horses from deep black type families.”

Sales graduates are now eligible for up to six stakes races for horses who pass through the Texas sales with purses totalling $700,000. The Texas Thoroughbred Association Board of Directors approved a pair of new sales-restricted $100,000 stakes races for two-year-olds, a filly division and a colt/gelding division, that will be held in partnership with Lone Star Park during the spring/summer meet starting in 2027. These two races join a strong stakes schedule for sales graduates with the two divisions of the TTA Sales Futurity held at Sam Houston Race Park and the TTA Derby and TTA Oaks at Lone Star Park.

“Adding these two new stakes races for TTA Sales graduates certainly adds incentive for our consignors, sellers, and buyers,” Bridewell said. “I thank the TTA Board members for supporting our sales and continuing to promote a positive racing environment for our breeders, sellers, and buyers.”

There will also be a Horses of Racing Age portion to the 2026 sale in August. Those horses are cataloged as Hips 159-163. Texas-breds Blingster, winner of a division of the Texas Stallion Series and the Two Altazano at Sam Houston, and TX Code, winner of the Assault Stakes at Lone Star Park, headline the race horse portion of the sale.

A digital PDF catalog and the interactive catalog are available at TTAsales.com. Catalogs will be mailed. Supplements to the catalog are anticipated.

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New Stakes Races Approved for Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales Graduates

by Posted in 2-Year-Old Sale, Mixed Sale, Yearling Sale

A pair of new two-year-old stakes races will be featured at Lone Star Park starting in 2027 for graduates of the two Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales held annually. The races were approved by the full Texas Thoroughbred Association Board of Directors on Wednesday evening.

The races will be for two-year-olds who have passed through the sales ring at the Mary Ruyle Sales Pavilion at Lone Star Park, beginning with the 2026 Texas Yearling Sale and the 2027 Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. Both races will feature $100,000 purses; one race for two-year-old fillies TTA Sales graduates and one race for two-year-old colts and gelding TTA Sales graduates.

“These races are a great way to continue growing Texas racing and a great incentive for our sellers and buyers at the Texas Thoroughbred Association Sales,” TTA Board President Phil Leckinger said. “We are committed to ensuring our graduates have opportunities that cannot be found anywhere else and we believe supporting our sales through these sales-restricted races is a great way to continue to boost the energy around our sales.”

These stakes races will be held at Lone Star Park during their Summer racing meet beginning in 2027. These two races will be the third set of stakes races for TTA Sales graduates in addition to the two $150,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity races held at Sam Houston Race Park in December and the $100,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby and $100,000 Texas Thoroughbred Association Oaks at Lone Star Park in May. In total, the six stakes events for TTA Sales graduates will have $700,000 in purse money.

“This announcement comes at the perfect time as we are gearing up for our 2026 Texas Yearling Sale in August,” TTA Sales Director Foster Bridewell said. “These races provide another great opportunity for our sellers and buyers and I appreciate the TTA Board of Directors for their commitment to racing and our sales.”

These races will be presented to the Texas Racing Commission soon and are pending TRC approval.

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Exciting Changes for Texas Racing in 2026

by Posted in 2-Year-Old Sale, Mixed Sale, Yearling Sale

Changes have been made to several major races on the Texas Calendar for 2026.  “The Texas Thoroughbred Association is very excited about these changes” commented Tracy Sheffield, executive director of the TTA.  “We feel that these changes will make several of our most exciting stakes races accessible to a greater number of horses.”

The Texas Stallion Stakes Series now has a pathway to nominate two-year-olds.  A foal by a nominated stallion (a stallion paid into the program for the conception year of the foal) that did not nominate for the series as a weanling or a yearling can now nominate as a two-year-old with the following rules:

  1. The horse must go through a TTA sale. Either the yearling sale or the two-year-old in training sale.
  2. The nomination fee for a two-year-old will be $5000. No partial payments will be accepted.
  3. The nomination fee must be paid by May 1.

The dates for the TTA Futurity, Derby and Oaks have been changed.  Sam Houston Race Park and Lone Star Park are planning to slightly adjust their racing calendars to allow the TTA Futurity to be run in December of a horse’s two year old year.  Currently, the TTA Futurity is run in July.  Making this date change will allow trainers and horses more time to prepare two-year-olds and lead to fuller, more competitive fields.  In 2026 the Derby and Oaks will be run at the Sam Houston Race Park January through April meet.   Sam Houston Race Park will host the TTA Futurity in December of 2026.  In an interview, trainer Karen Jacks said she is pleased with the change.  “This gives us several more months to prepare two-year-olds for the futurities.”

The TTA Derby and Oaks will be moved to the meet at Lone Star for 2027.

If you have any questions about these changes, please contact the TTA office at (512) 458-6133 or email Tracy Sheffield at tracys@texasthoroughbred.com

Louisiana-bred Colt by Aurelius Maximus Tops Texas Summer Yearling Sale

by Posted in Yearling Sale

The Texas Summer Yearling Sale was held Tuesday at Lone Star Park with the largest catalog of horses since the Texas Thoroughbred Association took over operation of the auction in 2016. This year’s yearling session had 234 head go through the ring with 182 selling for a total of $2,918,100. The average came in at $16,034 and the median was $7,500, which both declined from last year’s smaller catalog of 187. Last year’s total sales were $2,685,200 with an average of $18,910 and median of $13,000.

“We expected the average and median to slip with a bigger catalog this year, so overall we are pleased with the results,” said Foster Bridewell, sales director. “We also had two six-figure horses last year to help boost the numbers as well. We had a big crowd on hand today and the middle and higher end market were strong, and our total sales were up.”

The high seller was hip 130, a Louisiana-bred colt by young stallion Aurelius Maximus that went for $95,000. The April 17 foal sold to Terry Stephens from the consignment of Scott Mallory, agent.

Aurelius Maximus, the leading second-crop sire in the Southwest region, is represented by one of the top horses to come out of the Texas Summer Yearling Sale in recent years in Secret Faith. That 3-year-old Louisiana-bred filly, who sold two years ago for $75,000 to Jayde Gelner from the Red River Farms consignment, is now a seven-time stakes winner with earnings approaching $500,000.

The sale-topping colt this year is out of the stakes-placed Too Much Bling mare Too Much to Bear, who has produced two winners including $99,790-earner Mo Bling.

The high-selling filly was hip 188, an Arkansas-bred filly by Grade 1 winner Yaupon. She is the first foal out of Cara’s Dreamer, a multiple stakes-placed mare by The Factor who earned $259,820. The filly sold to OCL (Abul-Keer Okab) for $87,000 from the consignment of Colin Brennan Bloodstock at Highlander Training Center, agent.

Following the yearling session, a short mixed session was held, topped by the Texas-bred gelding Shanghai Bobby, a 7-year-old with earnings of more than $325,000, selling for $10,000.

Click here for hip-by-hip results, or get PDF yearling results or PDF mixed results.

Important Changes for the August 26 Yearling Sale

by Posted in Yearling Sale

On the occasion of Mary Ruyle’s retirement after 37 years with the Texas Thoroughbred Association, buyers and consigners will notice a few changes at the upcoming TTA Yearling Sale.

First and most significant, the sales pavilion has been renamed The Mary Ruyle Sales Pavilion at Lone Star Park. The TTA board of directors unanimously agreed that this was the best way to honor her years of service to the Thoroughbred industry.

With Mary’s retirement, she will no longer be at the sale, and this has necessitated the need for some changes in our office procedures. These changes are aimed at making the purchase and check out process as efficient as possible. With the number of horses at the upcoming sale we want to minimize waiting times for everyone.

The forms needed to be a buyer are now available on this website under forms or by clicking here. There you will find the buyer application form, the credit reference form and the authorized agent form if you a planning to use an agent. The forms can either be printed out or filled out online and emailed to the TTA.

We request that all buyers (even if the buyer has purchased previously from a TTA sale) check in at the office prior to making a purchase. This will allow us time to answer any questions and to be sure that we have all the paperwork we need so your purchase can be processed quickly and efficiently. It will be easiest if buyers check in upon arrival at the sale.

At this sale, as we did for the Two-Year-Old In Training sale we will have college interns helping out in various areas of the sale. They will be wearing name tags identifying them as interns. If you have the opportunity to meet them, please welcome them. Young people are the future of our industry.

Widely Respected Texas Horseman Al Pike Passes

by Posted in 2-Year-Old Sale, Yearling Sale

Al and Salley Pike

Al Pike, a veteran horseman who was a perennial leading 2-year-old consignor in Texas and on the national scene, passed away on July 26 at the age of 70 after a valiant battle with cancer. Pike, along with his wife of nearly 45 years, Salley, and their son, Colt, operated Pike Racing. Pike is also survived by daughter Chelsey Pike Hooton.

Pike got his start in the horse industry in the 1970s as a Quarter Horse trainer in Texas, and then he and Salley transitioned to Thoroughbreds and eventually focused on pinhooking.

The Pike family enjoyed considerable success at sales in Texas and around the country. In the Lone Star State, Pike Racing sold the $300,000 sale-topper at the 2023 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. That price set a record for the TTA sale. Originally a $60,000 yearling purchase, the filly by Tapwrit who would later be named Blue Squall has earned $338,703 and is still in training.

Pike Racing again had the sale topper at the 2024 Texas juvenile sale with a Texas-bred colt by Street Boss who sold for $265,000. That was part of the Pike Racing at Highlander consignment. Pike retired from working with Texas-based Highlander Training Center earlier this year.

Pike Racing was active at many other sales in the Southwest and around the country. On the national scene, Pike Racing had three juvenile sale horses make it to the Kentucky Derby, including millionaires Vyjack and Vicar’s in Trouble. Other notable sale horses included Modest Maven, an $80,000 yearling who sold for $1 million as a 2-year-old, and Shazz, a $185,000 yearling who brought $1.1 million the following year.

The Texas Thoroughbred Association and TTA Sales extends its condolences to the Pike family and all of Al Pike’s many friends in the industry.

“Al Pike was synonymous with Texas sales,” said Foster Bridewell, sales director for TTA Sales. “Everyone knew and respected Al, and together with Salley and Colt they were a vital part of the sale scene here. We are going to miss Al dearly and plan to honor his memory at our next auction.”

Texas Summer Yearling Sale Attracts Record Number of Entries

by Posted in Yearling Sale

The Texas Summer Yearling Sale will showcase a record number of offerings on August 26 starting at 10 a.m. Central at the Mary Ruyle Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park near Dallas. A total of 261 yearlings have been consigned, smashing the record number since the TTA took over operation of the sale in 2016. An additional 22 horses have been entered for the mixed session for a total headcount of 283.

“We went from 207 yearlings in 2024 to 261 this year, so we are very thankful for the support shown by consignors all around the Southwest,” said Sales Director Foster Bridewell. “The mixed session is also quite strong this year with several stakes-level racehorses and excellent breeding stock available.

“Our 2023 yearling sale produced graded stakes-winning millionaire and Kentucky Derby (G1) starter Coal Battle, and I think this year’s catalog has many horses of similar quality,” Bridewell added.

All of the states in the region are well represented, topped by Louisiana-breds with a total of 115 yearlings entered. There are 63 Texas-breds, 30 Arkansas-breds and 11 Oklahoma-breds, along with yearlings bred in California, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

Among the leading Southwest sires with yearlings entered are Coal Front, Star Guitar, Competitive Edge, Creative Cause, El Deal and Aurelius Maximus. Numerous accomplished Kentucky stallions are represented, along with first-crop yearlings by Corniche, Early Voting, Mo Donegal, Cyberknife and Mandaloun.

The catalog is now online by clicking here, and streaming video and online bidding will be available on sale day. The catalog will also be available on the Equineline Sales Catalog iPad app.

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Texas Summer Yearling Sale Set for August 26 at Lone Star Park

by Posted in Yearling Sale

The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced that the 2025 Texas Summer Yearling Sale will be held Tuesday, August 26, at 10 a.m. at Lone Star Park. A limited mixed session will follow the yearling session.

“We’ve already had people asking about the yearling sale, so we are pleased to get the date set and start preparing for another successful auction,” said Sales Director Foster Bridewell. “The yearling sale has produced some tremendous racehorses over the years, including the latest example in Coal Battle.”

A $70,000 graduate of the 2023 yearling sale, Coal Battle is already a millionaire and currently tops the Road to the Kentucky Derby point standings with 70 after taking the $1.25 million Rebel Stakes (G2) last month at Oaklawn Park. The son of Louisiana stallion Coal Front was purchased by Power Racing from the consignment of Red River Farms.

The consignment deadline for the yearling sale is June 24, and forms are now available online.

Next up on the sale calendar at Lone Star Park is the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale on April 2. The breeze show for that sale will be held March 31. Five supplements were recently added for the 2-year-old sale.

For more information, go to www.ttasales.com.