by Dave Briggs

At last year’s record-smashing Lexington Selected Yearling Sale, Preferred Equine led all consignors with gross sales of $8,128,000 for 134 years sold. In 2020, Preferred also topped all consignors with $8,153,000 in total sales. In 2019, Preferred set a personal record for gross sales with $9,731,000 for 137 yearlings sold.

So, what’s in store for 2022? David Reid said stay tuned. Due to the fact his sale agency represents some 20 small-to-medium sized breeders he’s reluctant to single out any of the 146 horses he’s selling.

Though, he said he is very proud of the Preferred sale graduates — including this year’s Hambletonian winner Cool Papa Bell and Jug winner Bythemissal.

“We sold a Hambletonian winner of 2022, of 2020 and 2016. So, three of the Hambletonian winners in the last six years,” Reid said. “It’s a great feather in our cap for our breeders. The breeder of Cool Papa Bell is a small breeder, so it just shows the diversity that Preferred Equine has always offered. From small breeders to mid-range breeders, the performance is always the same.

“We have the same offering this year in that we have a lot of horses from a lot of different jurisdictions. We have a lot of different breeders represented here that we are proud to represent. We have a very strong offering of horses, right from the first session to the fifth session.”

Reid said this year’s Preferred consignment is a little heavier on trotters. He said the split was about 55/45 between trotters and pacers.

“We have a lot of Walners to offer, so I think that’s a strength of our consignment from a trotting point of view,” Reid said. “We have a sister to Meadowlands Pace winner Beach Glass to offer (Hip 53 Sea Glass). We’re looking forward to selling her. That’s a great representation of a small breeder that comes in with one or two yearlings to sell. We are happy that they chose Lexington to sell them.”

He said he’s also excited about the offspring of first-crop sires.

“When the customers come and they look at these first-crop sires, they are going to be pleased with what they see.

“We’re very happy with our Greenshoes. He bred to a great book of mares and we’re happy to offer them. I’ve also been very happy with the Six Pack yearlings and I’m excited to offer those as well.”