SHAKOPEE, MN – With the last year of the joint marketing agreement between Canterbury Park and the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community staring the Minnesota racing industry in the face, there was a lot of apprehension heading into the annual Minnesota Thoroughbred Association’s yearling sale.
Over the last three years, the consignments had dropped from 52 in 2020, 39 in 2021 to only 33 this year and it was uncertain how the sale would pan out.
“I don’t know,” said one consignor before the sale. “We think we brought some good ones here, but we don’t know how confident buyers are going to be.”
“I thought it was a solid catalog but with the uncertainty on purses moving forward I was pleasantly surprised,” said MTA President Cameron Mahlum
After three withdrawals, thirty Minnesota bred yearlings went through the sale and twenty-five of those went to new owners. Compared to 2021, thity-five horses went through the ring with twenty-eight going to new owners. However, this year’s crop brought more money as the gross receipts edged out 2021, $385,600 to $383,500.
“We are thrilled with the sale,” said Mahlum. “We saw the highest gross sales in years with less in the sale. We saw a 13% increase in sales average from last year and an impressive 53% average increase compared to 2020. Our $6,000 median only trailed last year for highest in the last five years.”
The sales average was $15,424. The 2021 sale average was $13,696 and 2020 was $9,724. The medians were $9,000 and $4,000 in 2021 and 202, respectively.
The sales topper this year was bred by Eric and Mary Von Seggern. Hip number 30, a dark bay or brown filly out of Dazzlingsweetheart by Competitive Edge named Grandma’s Prodigy, brought $70,000, selling to Kerri Raven.
Earlier, hip number 25, a colt, Tappin the Blues (Tapiture-Blue Gene Song-Buddah) bred by the Von Seggerns and a half to multiple stakes winner and Canterbury champion, Clickbait, sold for $60,000 to Xtreme Racing Stables.
The two helped propel Von Seggern Thoroughbreds to the top consignor position in terms of sales dollars, bringing in $148,000.
“It’s a lot of relief to have the sale done,” said a clearly emotional Eric Von Seggern. “All of us bring our horses here and hope for the best. We put our heart and soul into it, like everyone else, and we’re very grateful and thankful to the MTA and to everyone who came out and bid on our yearlings. We hope they all have great success.”
Von Seggern said both Tappin the Blues and Grandma’s Prodigy came into the sale spotless and vetted well.
“They both have really good minds,” said Von Seggern. “They really look the part.”
This was the third consecutive year that the Von Seggerns sold the sale topper at the MTA sale.
“My wife and I are a team,” he said. “The only way we could do it is together.”
The leading consignor in terms of horses sold was Lowell Haroldson, selling four. Leading the buyers was Xtreme Racing Stables, buying three yearlings at a total cost of $113,000.
“A big shout out to the auctioneer team of Dan Mahaney and Mitchell Armitage,” said Mahlum. “Local trainer CC Perkinson covered the pedigrees and a huge thank to the MTA board members and those that directly helped, especially our executive director Kay King. Once again, our consigners and Canterbury Park were key players in making the sale a success.
“With the unknowns it was very rewarding to see the excitement and investment in racing in Minnesota,” concluded Mahlum.
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