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  Back from beach vacation, so now it's time to get back to work. Following are some of the interesting pedigrees in the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky select yearling auction, scheduled for July 20 and 21:   FIRST SESSION, JULY 20 Hip No. 6, a First Samurai - Saunter colt that is a half-brother to Lafayette Stakes (gr. III) winner More Smoke ...

Sellers of yearlings in England and Ireland aren't just complaining about the condition of the Thoroughbred marketplaces, which has been battered by economic downturns. They're trying to do something to make it better. This week they announced the creation of a bonus fund that they hope ultimately will be worth more than $3 million. They have ...

At first glance, this year's Triple Crown looks like a big bust for the commercial Thoroughbred business. The winner of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) was Mine That Bird, a small gelding, which didn't have the straightest legs and sold for $9,500 at public auction as a weanling. The winner of the BlackBerry Preakness Stakes ...

''I like big butts and I cannot lie'' -- it's a line from an old rap song, but it's also something that seems to run constantly through the minds of yearling buyers as they look at young horses. They want big butts, big bodies, and big muscles, seeking an ideal that was made popular by Hall-of-Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. They really don't care ...

  Following are the names of some of the top-selling select 2-year-olds in training of this year. Some horses, so far, have retained the name they had at the time they were sold, and some have not been named yet.   OCALA BREEDERS' SALES CO. FEBRUARY SALE Top priced-horse: Belle of the Hall, f., Graeme Hall - Vines of Justice, by ...

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 ...

Desert Party, who is scheduled to run in the May 2 Kentucky Derby Presented By Yum! Brands (gr. I),  was a star in the sale ring in 2008. He brought $2.1 million from John Ferguson to top the Fasig-Tipton Florida select sale of 2-year-olds in training. Since then, the son of Street Cry has become a standout for Sheikh Mohammed's Godolphin ...

The news has been depressing during the selling season for 2-year-olds in training. In general, the key business figures like gross revenue and average price have been down at the select auctions and the buy-back rate has increased. But there have been a few positive developments: 1. The nation's four major auction companies - Barretts, ...

  When Bob Baffert purchased Vallenzeri at the Keeneland sale of 2-year-olds in training April 6, the trainer said the colt's new owner, Kaleem Shah, probably would rename the chestnut juvenile.  Baffert and Shah probably don't need any help with this little project, but it'll be fun trying to come up with suggestions for a new ...

All in all it was a pretty good night. North Carolina (my alma mater) won the national championship in college basketball, and the there some bright spots during the opening session of the Keeneland April sale of 2-year-olds in training. The market remained brutal, with the buy-back rate and the number of scratches much too high for comfort, but ...