The number of yearlings sold in the Iowa Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners’ Association sale Sunday jumped 29% to 49 and the gross proceeds for yearlings reached a record $363,550. Total proceeds, adding in 2-year olds, weanlings and broodmares was $371,350 with an additional seven horses sold.
“I think that when you see the over all sale with our proceeds were up again that tells me there is still a big interest in racing here in Iowa,” said ITBOA Board Member Pam Shutz.
This year’s sales topper was a yearling consigned by Madison County Thoroughbreds as agent for Gary Lucas. He is a bay colt by Discreetly Mine out of the Shuailaan mare former Iowa champion One Fine Shweetie.
One Fine Shweetie has sent four foals to the races, all of them winners with three of them stakes winners.
Champaign Attitude followed in her mother’s footsteps being named 2009’s Iowa 3-year old filly champion after taking the Iowa Breeders’ Oaks that year.
Her third foal, Awesomemundo, is a graded stakes winner, taking the 2012 edition of the Grade III Allaire du Pont Distaff at Pimlico.
She also has a 2-year old, One Fine Dream, who captured this year’s Iowa Cradle Stakes.
The Discreetly Mine colt sold to Cando Partners for $48,000 making him the third highest sales topper in the history of the sale, edging out his half-brother One Fine Dream who was the 2014 sales topper at $45,000.
Shutz’s Madison County Thoroughbreds also checked in as leading consignor with 18 horses sold worth $178,000.
Since hitting a record high of $10,705 in 2012, the average yearling sales price has slipped each year, reaching $7419 this year. That number is still well clear of the pre-2012 high of $5781. Additionally the number of horses sold has climbed 145% since the low of 20 in 2012 so some slippage in average selling price could be expected.
“We were very happy with the number of yearlings that sold this year at our sale and pleased with the total proceeds,” said ITBOA President Deb Leech. “I believe buyers got some great deals, the quality was up, however not reflected in some of the purchase prices.”
The next event for the ITBOA is the annual stallion auction sale which will begin on December 5.
Complete results here: Iowa 2015 results
