In a post three weeks ago, I asked Are Names an Advantage at Yearling Sales? and indicated that I was surprised by the apparent advantage of named hips at the Keeneland September sale in recent years. I promised to take a closer look -- comparing named versus unnamed foals by book rather than across...

The Rasmussen Factor Back a few months ago, we discussed inbreeding notations in Thoroughbred pedigrees . At the time, I indicated that we'd want to look at the Rasmussen Factor (RF) at some point in the future. Since then, I've had several emails asking about the subject. There seems to be an air of...

Here in Lexington -- yes, sadly, I didn't rate a trip to the Spa! -- signs of change are evident at Fasig-Tipton. Since the company's acquisition by Dubai-based Synergy Investments 15 months ago, the sales facility on Newtown Pike has received an impressive face lift and a well-coordinated marketing...

Yesterday, I played around with the final data from the Keeneland September yearling sale that concluded Tuesday afternoon. BloodHorse.com has a nice, succinct statistical review of the sale available free to all readers: download the 2008 KEESEP Thoroughbred Sales Data Digest results edition . If you...

The headlines on BloodHorse.com have told the same story every night for the past two weeks: with a few exceptions at the top of the market, it's a bad time to be selling yearlings. I've been crunching numbers from the Keeneland September yearling sale every evening these past couple of weeks -- I review...

I ducked out of work this afternoon and drove the 2.2 miles to Keeneland for a bit of horse-watching. There were two "Day Nine" hips that had caught my attention when I went through the catalog way back when it came out, and I wanted to see them. Hip #3086 ( catalog page ) was a bay filly by Yes It's...

The practice of submitting veterinary examination findings to the sales repository is now almost obligatory when selling a foal at public auction. Many buyers won't even look at a yearling or 2-year-old if radiographs and a respiratory scope are not on file. Certainly at the mid-to-high end of the market...

The Blood-Horse and TrueNicks have released a useful guide to the top seven tips that will help you select winners at the fall yearling sales. With Keeneland's uber-sale only days away, you don't want to miss out on your free copy of this special report. Some of the secrets revealed in A Guide to Buying...

It's been a few weeks since I brought my Keeneland September colt ( pedigree , catalog page ) over to a sales prep facility. I stopped by Friday to check on his progress -- it's only a couple of miles from my office, so quite convenient to get there during a lunch break -- and I was impressed by the...

When the hammer fell following hip #568 at yesterday's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky July yearling sale, it marked the closing of the first major yearling auction in 2008. Many breeders were holding their breaths throughout the last couple of weeks, knowing that the July sale is the first test of the strength...