by Debbie Little

Although Tom Grossman’s Blue Chip Farms will have 10 outstanding yearlings in the sale at Lexington, there were a specific few that he wanted to highlight.

“I’d say there’s three that I really love,” Grossman said. “Hip #204 [Wisteria Blue Chip] is out of the family of Cantab Fashion and Beat The Wheel. She’s by Chapter Seven and she’s always just really, really, really impressed me in the field; very light on her feet.

“Her video is good, although I’ve seen her look better, and she’s going to be a winner.”

Grossman has a good story about Hip #252 Wanda Blue Chip, a Kentucky/New Jersey eligible Muscle Hill filly out of the Andover Hall mare Oh My Goodness.

“I was pissed off when we were at Timonium,” Grossman said. “I had what I thought was a bad yearling sale and I said I’m not buying any mares. And I walked through the barn, and [Oh My Goodness] was in the aisle, and I didn’t know who she was and she was just that good looking.

“So, I reached in my pocket and bought her and I bred her to Muscle Hill and this is the first foal and it’s a really nice filly. And this is out of the family of Cedar Dove. [The filly] looks a lot like When Dovescry.”

In all, there are seven jurisdictions — Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Ontario and Pennsylvania — that Blue Chip’s consignment is eligible to.

According to Grossman, his Ohio-eligible colt, Hip #884 Woodrow Blue Chip, is absolutely gorgeous. He’s by Lather Up out of the American Ideal mare Onassis Blue Chip.

“It’s been a hard-luck mare,” Grossman said. “We know a couple of [her foals] had real excuses and they were expected to be better than they were, which every breeder is going say, but [Onassis Blue Chip] is out of a good, good old family of ours. She’s a sister to Heston [Blue Chip] and Sunfire [Blue Chip].

“I don’t know what the other Lather Ups are, but this one reminds me of the dam’s sire, I’m Gorgeous, because I always said, ‘Man, that guy is gorgeous.’ We’ve done pretty well with Ohio breds, the couple that we’ve bred. So, we’re kind of excited about it.”

Blue Chip has also added a nice touch to their sale videos by including the yearling’s pedigree. According to Grossman, they are always looking to tweak things and make them more pleasing to the buyer.

“I also buy yearlings, and I look at a lot of yearling videos and everyone wants something slightly different, and I try to [make them] what I would want to see,” Grossman said.

In regards to their New York yearlings, Grossman thinks this is a great time to be buying in the Empire State.

“I think New York breds are going to be a hell of a deal this year with the purses the same and 20 per cent less horses,” Grossman said. “You’re really getting value for the dollar on any New York bred.

The number of foals nominated to the New York Sire Stakes in 2020 was 733, while in 2023, that number was estimated to be only 492, down 33 per cent. The number was also down 11 per cent from 2022, when 554 were nominated.

“When people compare the overall numbers, yes, there’s much more money in Pennsylvania [and other places], but there’s five times as many eligible horses, so the amount of money per eligible horse is much higher. It’s come full circle, where the numbers are much better for New York breds relative to anything else on a per-foal basis.”