A New Source for the Classic Horse

Isn't it ironic? The sale Fasig-Tipton officials thought about ending - the Kentucky fall yearling auction - has been the source of the two most recent Kentucky Derby winners. Mine That Bird and Big Brown both were sold there.

Does that mean we should all go looking there for a Derby horse? Probably not. But this development does show that good, useful horses can be found just about anywhere if you look hard enough and that buyers can get some really good deals while there is an oversupply of Thoroughbreds and the economy is being pummeled by a global financial crisis. The oversupply factor certainly already was in play when Mine That Bird and Big Brown were sold.

It's also heartening to know that you don't have to spend millions of dollars to buy a horse that can win racing's biggest events.

On a more amusing note, here is a little lesson about how omens can be difficult to interpret. On the Thursday morning before the Derby, I was visiting Bob Baffert's barn where a bird pooped right on the face of Pioneerof the Nile's owner, Ahmed Zayat. This made Zayat really happy, and he thought it was good luck. In retrospect, it maybe was a sign that a bird - Mine That Bird - was going to poop on Pioneerof the Nile's Derby parade.