By most measures, Monday’s January Select Mixed Sale at the Meadowlands was the strongest it has been in many years. The gross of $6,6288,400 was the best since 2010 and the average of $26,989 for the 233 horses/stallion shares sold was the highest since 2008 when the sale posted all-time record numbers.

“It was a well-paced sale and the bidding was spirited,” said sale general manager David Reid. “We really saw people from a lot of different jurisdictions here today. I was happy to see that.

“We try to recruit as many high-value or highly-accomplished horses as we can. It’s not always the easiest task because with the horse shortages, people aren’t so easy to part with the horses.”

This year’s gross was up 7.5 per cent over the $5,849,400 fetched in 2016 despite 25 fewer horses being sold this year. The average was up 19 per cent over the 2016 sale average of $22,672.