Tue, 07/01/2025 - 14:40

Fasig-Tipton to eliminate timed workouts from Midlantic 2-year-old sale

Fasig-Tipton will not officially time workouts at next year’s Midlantic 2-year-olds in training sale and will restrict use of the crop, following what it called an “unplanned but revealing trial” at this year’s renewal of the sale.

The under-tack preview for the 2026 Midlantic sale at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium will be presented as a gallop show. However, some horses may go faster or slower at the discretion of their consignors, and private clockers will likely still be active.

A furlong is the traditional distance for under-tack preview shows, and times less than 10 seconds typically garner plenty of attention and big price tags – despite that being much quicker than virtually any furlong the horses will run in a future race. This year’s top 2-year-old Beyer Speed Figure, a 93, belongs to the filly Mythical, who ran the 5 1/2-furlong Tremont Stakes at Saratoga in 1:03.57 – an average of 11.55 seconds per furlong.

“As a horse trainer, we want racehorses,” said Destin Heath, a trainer who is active on both the buying and selling side of 2-year-old sales. “These horses will never, ever be asked to go that short of a duration and that quick of a speed ever again, so why are we doing that . . . why has the system gone to that?”

Heath said that while he has purchased quick-working horses before, he was more attracted by stride efficiency than time on a stopwatch. The horses he purchased worked without encouragement from a crop.

Although there will be no restrictions on speed, Fasig-Tipton will restrict the use of crops at the sale. Riders may carry a crop for safety purposes but may not strike horses during exercise.

“The restricted use of the crop is a good move forward,” Heath said. “A knowledgeable eye will be able to see in a true sense the horse’s natural ability to quicken.”

In a press release, Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said the company is committed to improving its 2-year-old sales processes and that the changes could attract a broader spectrum of buyers in the long term.

“We believe buyer focus has skewed too heavily toward stopwatch-based evaluations,” Browning said. “This approach is intended to restore balance, emphasizing how a horse moves and presents itself on the track.

"By focusing less on clock-driven evaluations and removing whip use we believe we can create a more accessible and horse-first sales environment. Our aim is to better serve traditional buyers while also welcoming new owners, trainers, and end users who are interested in acquiring horses that are physically ready and mentally sound for the racetrack.”

The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sale was the only brick-and-mortar 2-year-old sale on the calendar this year for Fasig-Tipton, which has been a leader in the digital sales space. Additionally, it is the only sale among the nation’s three major auction houses to hold the under-tack preview on a dirt track.

This May’s under-tack show was beleaguered by poor weather and controversy. Three days of works were originally scheduled at Timonium. Heavy rain pushed the start of the show back by a day.

After an uneventful opening session on a sloppy, sealed track, the second session began without incident on another wet track. Less than halfway through the session, a filly suffered catastrophic forelimb injuries entering the turn past the wire of her furlong breeze.

Another heavy burst of rain almost immediately moved into the area, and Fasig-Tipton representatives, after meeting with the Maryland State Fairgrounds racetrack superintendent, called off the rest of the day’s works.

At that point, on Thursday afternoon, the sale company announced that all the horses who had yet to breeze would work in a single session Sunday, with better track conditions expected by then. However, after more rain moved through the area on Friday, Fasig-Tipton announced that it would present the Sunday session as a gallop show – placing more than half the catalog under those conditions.

The sale did finish with record average and median figures. There were four seven-figure horses – three of whom had breezed, and one who galloped in the final session.

“It became an unexpected case study,” Browning said. “Not only did the show present well visually, but the horses came out of their workouts in excellent condition and the feedback from leading buyers and consignors was extremely supportive.

"That experience, combined with the tremendous horsemanship of our consignors, gives us the confidence to make these changes.”

The horse who galloped in the final session and fetched a high price was a $1.05 million Violence colt, purchased by Donato Lanni for Zedan Racing. He was consigned by Jimbo and Torie Gladwell’s Top Line Sales.

Torie Gladwell said she does not believe breezing 2-year-olds at sales presents an undue safety concern, noting that the 2-year-old racing season is under way when the majority of sales take place.

“I love the idea of taking the whip away,” Gladwell said. “I think that’s fantastic. Most of them want to do it on their own.”

While Fasig-Tipton hosts just one 2-year-old sale and Keeneland conducts a horses of racing age sale with a handful of juveniles typically included, the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. handles the bulk of the crop over three sales in March, April, and June. The company, which conducts its under-tack shows on the Ocala Training Center’s all-weather Safetrack, is coming off a strong season, including a record average at its April sale and record average and median at its June sale.

“Our all-weather track has worked extremely well for our situation, given the under-tack show is a critical component of 2-year-old sales and what distinguishes it from a yearling sale,” OBS director of sales Tod Wojciechowski said. “No other sales company in the world has as many under-tack performances over as many days as OBS.

"The all-weather surface allows us to provide the most consistent racetrack possible. This is important for sellers, giving them a uniform, safe surface for their horses to display their talent, as well as for buyers, giving them a consistent surface so they can mitigate environmental variables when they are making their purchasing decisions.”

Gladwell praised the Safetrack surface. 

“The OBS track is a very good track,” she said.

Regardless of what surface they work on, Heath emphasized that his desire at the juvenile sales is to seek out race-horses.

“There are too many horses, in my opinion, that are prepared to have their biggest day and their best day in their entire career be on a breeze day for a sale,” he said. “I feel like that’s where the industry has taken a step commercially that has hurt us on the racetrack. There are too many horses that are prepared to shine on a breeze day and not on the first Saturday in May, to use that metaphor.”

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