by Debbie Little

If variety is the spice of life, then Walnridge Farm is bringing the flavor to Harrisburg.

The 23 yearlings that Walnridge is bringing to Harrisburg are represented by pacing sires All Bets Off, American Ideal, Betting Line, Captain Crunch, Cattlewash, Downbytheseaside, Huntsville, Lazarus N, McWicked, Stay Hungry Tall Dark Stranger and trotting sires Cantab Hall, Muscle Hill and Six Pack.

Dr. Richard Meirs, president and general manager of Walnridge Farm, is enthusiastic about his yearling consignment for the Standardbred Horse Sale Company auction, especially the ones that are selling on Day 1 on Monday (Nov. 6).

“Well, I have four horses on Monday that I’m very, very excited about,” Meirs said. “A very handsome Huntsville colt [Hip #104 Saturn V Rocket] out of a very strong family. The mare is Ali Blue, she was a stakes winner in New York and she has a very strong family.”

Saturn V Rocket — who is New York and New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund eligible — is a half-sister to both 7-year-old mare Blue Ivy (1:50.1f, $844,999) and 2-year-old filly Ivy Park (1:53.4f, $180,000).

Meirs also has two Day 1 Muscle Hill yearlings, the New Jersey and Kentucky eligible colt Hip #11 Salieri, and the New Jersey eligible filly, Hip #128 Miss Belmar.

“They’re both very, very nice individuals,” Meirs said. “Muscle Hill has been a great sire for me to sell yearlings. You know, when I sold Bar Hopping, I was elated to have him in the barn and a few other really nice Muscle Hill colts and fillies. So, I’m excited for those two and I think that my Monday horses are strong.”

Hip #141 Delightful Didi — Pennsylvania and New Jersey Standardbred Development Fund eligible — by Captain Crunch out of Delightful Dragon, may round out Meirs’ consignment on Day 1, but that doesn’t end his varied offering.

“I’ve got a great, solid consignment of pacing colts and fillies that are selling on Tuesday,” he said. “They’re very strong, the pedigrees are good, and, I’m very excited for all three days.”

Even though half of his yearlings are pacing fillies, which has been a hot trend the last couple of years, Meirs believes selling is more about the individual horse and not the trend.

“Yes, there are trends, but the most consistent trend that I’ve noticed is that the consumer that’s buying horses in this day and age are very, very conscious of the quality of the individual as an athlete,” Meirs said. “And, you have to have a good horse. It doesn’t matter what it is, trotter, pacer, colt, filly, you’ve got to have a good horse. You know, we have an awful lot of repeat buyers. We have an awful lot of people that have been doing this for a long period of time and they know what they’re looking for and they know what they’re looking at. So, you gotta have a good horse to make it sell good. Pretty much, that’s the bottom line.

“The bad horses will sell bad no matter what their pedigree and the good horses will sell good.”

Walnridge also has a couple of clients that consign horses to the mixed sale.

“I have a real nice trotting mare by El Titan, whose name is [Hip #1426] Pride N Joy and she’ll be selling on Friday,” Meirs said.

Meirs is looking forward to a good sale at Harrisburg for himself and the industry.

“I have a broad spectrum of sires that I’m excited about and I think the sire diversity will bring a lot of people to the consignment to take a look,” he said. “And, I think they’ll be happy with what they have to see as far as product is concerned.”