BloodHorse.com

By Nicole Sauer A sire's career typically hinges on his first 2-year-olds, no matter what the initial market opinion was of the horse when he first entered stud. Occasionally that first crop vaults a stallion from obscurity (Malibu Moon, for example), but more often the opposite happens when the first crop fails to meet expectations. Click ...

By Nicole Sauer More than 1,900 broodmares will be offered in-foal at this year's Keeneland November breeding stock sale. Many buyers will keep the resulting foals from these mares, but some foals will enter the auction ring as yearlings in two years' time. Mares like Blading Gold Ring, who sold for $165,000 in foal to War Front in 2011, can see ...

By Nicole Sauer Yearlings by young and unproven sires can be a risky investments, but those by proven sires tend to be more costly. Consequently, weighing the risks against the potential returns may seem like a rock and a hard place situation for value-seeking buyers at the yearling sales. MarketWatch looked at first- through fifth-crop ...

By Nicole Sauer As mentioned in an earlier post on 2-year-old ROR, sales 2-year-olds as a whole achieve a higher rate of return in racetrack earnings than sales yearlings largely because buyers are able to see at least one workout before purchasing. Since workouts have a significant effect on buyers' decisions, MarketWatch used the breeze times ...

By Nicole Sauer Fasig-Tipton's July yearling sale marks the beginning of the yearling sale season in North America. In the June issue of MarketWatch, we review the success of major yearling sales based on the racing performance of the yearlings they offered. The charts below illustrate the quality of yearlings offered based on the best level of ...

By Byron Rogers, @Perf_Genetics This weekend saw the running of two classics—one on each side of the Atlantic—run over roughly the same distance. The Belmont Stakes (gr. I), run in New York at Belmont Park over 12 furlongs, was won in a stirring finish by Tonalist, and the Epsom Derby (Eng-I), run at Epsom Racecource in England over an undulating ...

By Nicole Sauer Since 1973, an average of five Kentucky Derby (gr. I) starters have ran back in the Preakness Stakes (gr. I). By that standard, this year's class of sophomores is under-performing, with only three Derby runners—California Chrome (first), Ride On Curlin (seventh), and General a Rod (11th)—are likely to start in the Preakness. Derby ...

By Nicole Sauer Not since Apollo in 1882 has a horse that was unraced at age 2 gone on to win the Kentucky Derby (gr. I). The famed ''Curse of Apollo'' will be put to the test once again this year, this time by Rebel Stakes (gr. II) winner Hoppertunity. Many argue that the right horse just hasn't come along yet, and it's only a matter of time ...

By Nicole Sauer Buyers at 2-year-olds in training sales have at least one distinct advantage over yearling buyers: they get to see the horses perform. As a result, 2-year-olds are typically sold at prices that more realistically reflect their potential racetrack performance (measured by earnings). Meanwhile, yearling prices can be inflated due to ...

By Nicole Sauer Trying to pinpoint which of the newest crop of sires will be most successful is a difficult proposition for even the most skilled horsemen. At this point in a stallion's career, there are few statistics that can reliably isolate the leading contenders. The size of the first foal crop, first-crop CI, and first-crop CPI are three of ...