Ontario Sired horses more valuable than ever heading into London Classic Yearling Sale

by Dave Briggs / Ontario Racing

New government funding for Ontario’s standardbred industry and a diverse and powerful stallion lineup are two key reasons Greg Blanchard said he’s bullish about this year’s London Classic Yearling Sale (LCYS) to be held Oct. 13 and 14 at the J-AAR Expo Centre (formerly the Agriplex) at the Western Fair District in London, ON.

“I’m really optimistic that it’s going to be a be a good sale for everybody this year,” said Blanchard, the LCYS sale manager about the auction which features predominantly Ontario-sired yearlings. “That’s based on what we’ve seen elsewhere with the other sales where the numbers seem to be strong, and that we’ve got a tremendous catalog. It’s as deep as we’ve ever had here, maybe the deepest.

“Also, there is the good news [about additional government funding] that we got in Ontario earlier this summer, and more recent good news surrounding [increases for] Ontario-sired horses and the earning potential that lies ahead. I think everything’s in place for what we hope is going to be a really good sale.”

In June, Ontario Racing announced that the provincial government had directed $35 million in additional funding annually for the next five years to the province’s horse racing industry counting all three racing breeds together.

The standardbred industry’s share was more than $14 million. Of that, the vast majority is going to purses and horse improvement programs.

There is about $5 million in new money for the Standardbred Improvement Program (SIP) that conducts, among other programs, the Ontario Sires Stakes (OSS) that will increase to more than $17 millionfor 2027.

In addition to the purses in the OSS program, there will also be more than $5.5 million in restricted purses for Ontario-sired horses next year.

Counting all purses, there will be nearly $23 million restricted to Ontario-sired horses for 2027.

“Honestly, things have been flat in Ontario for the last decade since SARP [the Slots at Racetracks Program] was canceled [in 2013],” Blanchard said. “So, this [new funding] was long overdue and welcome good news for the industry. The thing I like is that the money is spread out over the overnight programs all across the province, and through the Ontario Sires Stakes as well as a lot of the new Ontario restricted events, and will bolster some existing stakes races that support the Ontario breeders. So, I think it’s good news for everybody.

“I think the climate is a lot more appealing now for folks to invest in Ontario. [It was already] one of strongest provincial programs anywhere in North America, but now the overall industry has received a boost. So, you can go to the sale with a bit more confidence that you’ve got different ways to recoup that money with your purchase.”

Hall of Famer Jim Bullock said his Glengate Farms of Erin, ON will sell 10 yearlings in London this year via the Preferred Equine consignment.

“I’ve taken Ontario horses to both Lexington and Harrisburg over the years, and then also sold some in London, and I found that I wasn’t getting particularly well paid in either Lexington or Harrisburg for the Ontario-bred, and they were being bought by people from Ontario,” Bullock said. “Then, when you get to London, people would say, ‘He took his good ones to Lexington or his good ones to Harrisburg.’

“The one thing that I’ve experienced in both Lexington, but particularly Harrisburg, is you can breed to whoever you want as a stallion, but if you have what I describe as an Ontario pedigree for the mare, it’s very difficult to get your pricing. The Americans tend to discount it.

“I had a strong sale last year in London. So, this year, I just put all my Ontario [yearlings] in London, and I jokingly said to Greg when he called me looking for a quote, I said, ‘I’m a little slow. It took me 24 or 25 years to figure out that I should just be selling the Ontario ones in London.’”

Bullock said he’s selling seven on the first day of the sale and three on the second.

“Every breeder will tell you this, but I think I’ve got the strongest group I’ve had for a number of years in London,” Bullock said. “So, I’m hopeful that the sale does well.”

He then joked that he’ll be happy to take the average price from the recently-concluded Lexington Selected Yearling Sale – a record $81,320 U.S. – for his 10 selling London.

He’s particularly optimistic that Hip #55 North Lite, a King Of The North brother to O’Brien Award winner Strobe Lite, will sell well.

“And, I’ve got three really nice Green Manalishi colts that have got decent pedigrees,” Bullock said. “We don’t get a lot of people visiting the farm ahead of time to see the horses, but enough that after you’ve had a dozen people there, you can kind of figure out which ones people are interested in. So, I think the Green Manalishis will do well for me.”

Some 280 yearlings will be sold at the LCYS over two days – about 145 on Tuesday and about 130 on Wednesday. Both sales sessions begin at noon.

Blanchard said he likes that there is a diverse lineup of veteran, proven stallions such as Bettors Delight, Archangel, Big Jim, Green Manalishi S, and Muscle Mass, as well as exciting new stallions such as Bulldog Hanover, Cattlewash, King Of The North, Beach Glass, and Lawless Shadow.

“You look at the stallion roster in Ontario and its depth,” Blanchard said. “We’re competing with some of the best jurisdictions in North America now, and these sires are capable of producing horses that can that can win the biggest races in the sport.”

Blanchard said the sale roster is much easier to navigate thanks to a new LCYSwebsite.

“We have a new person in-house in our marketing team who did that for us, and we think did a fantastic job,” Blanchard said. “We’ve gotten a lot of tremendous feedback about that as well. We also worked to improve the process for getting information to the Equineline app. We’ve taken some positive steps forward in that as more and more people have migrated to that rather than the hard copy catalog. We made some cosmetic changes.”

As for other changes, Blanchard said the auction block will be different compared to previous years.

“We took the elevation out of the sales ring portion this year and went with a new base and matting and mulch,” Blanchard said. “It gives it a cosmetic enhancement, but we think from a safety standpoint, it will be better as well. Horses don’t have to go up the ramp and onto the elevated platform, and it’ll be much quieter and we think you know easier for the horses to navigate when they’re coming in and out of the ring.”

Most importantly, Blanchard said there’s a positive buzz heading into the sale.

“There’s a lot more optimism,” Blanchard said. “I see that at the racetrack on race nights, and talking to horsepeople. I think that will translate. [The additional government funding] was tremendously welcome news, long overdue. I feel good for horsepeople and people in the industry that have invested. For myself and our raceway team, we were happy to hear that news, and it’s positively impacting our overnight race program already. We’re seeing it.”