You never forget your first time at the Lexington Sale

by Debbie Little

With another successful Lexington Selected Yearling Sale in the books, HRU caught up with a few Meadowlands’ horsepeople to see what they remembered about their first visit to the Fasig-Tipton sales pavilion.

Trainer Ron Burke said he remembers going to his first sale in Lexington back in the day with his dad, Mickey.

“I mean, it’s probably 25 or 30 years ago at least and I was 23, 22, and we came here and we thought people at these tables [at the back of the sale ring] reserved them,” Ron said. “I’ve literally been sitting in the same spot for 25 to 30 years.

“We used to bring our own chairs and then, like probably three or four years ago, they put tables in for us. We like this even better, because now we have electronics and stuff like that. Most of us run off iPads, not books anymore; we made the switch to the iPads a couple of years ago, so it makes it easier for us.”

Members of the Burke Brigade were out in force all four days of the sale.

“It’s exciting,” Burke said. “You know, I remember they used to have a sale on Sunday. We would come to buy just one horse on Sunday. It was the cheapest day, and, you know, you don’t see 30 years down the road that you’d be here trying to buy most of yours on opening day. So, it’s cool.”

The Burkes left Kentucky with a total of 15, including four on night one.

Between breeding and buying, the Burkes have a lot of horses.

“That’s the problem,” Ron said. “That’s how we ended up having 98 babies last year. So, the goal this year is 85, 15 per cent less.”

It remains to be seen if they’ll achieve that goal.

Trainer Sarah Svanstedt said she and her husband, Ake, were at the sale a couple of times before they officially moved to the U.S. from Sweden in 2013.

“I remember when I saw the pacers the first time,” Sarah said. “Obviously, we don’t have them in Sweden, so I said to Ake, ‘Are they selling older horses here?’ He said, ‘No, that’s the pacers, Sarah.’

“So, I was like, ‘Oh my God, are they not gorgeous?’ I mean, they are completely differently built than trotters; bigger, stronger, good looking horses.

“We were impressed with the environment here in Lexington.”

According to Sarah, the Svanstedts had seen the sale in Harrisburg, PA, before coming to Lexington.

“It was really a big difference going to the sale [in Lexington] from the perspective of seeing this environment, it’s very different.

“So, I think just for the vibes, it’s very nice to be here and people like it, too. And they dress up.”

The Svanstedts bought a total of 11 in Lexington, including Night 1 session and sales-topper Hip #79 Kountry Prince ($825,000).

Like the Svanstedts, trainer Annie Stoebe and her owners, Lynn and Philomena Curry, were enjoying the atmosphere on Night 1 in the back ring. The Currys co-own the marvelous mare Elista Hanover with Stoebe.

“The first time I went to the Lexington Sale, I bought Instagram Model [for Lynn Curry in 2021 for $350,000].”

This year, Stoebe said she was wearing one of her favorite outfits that she’s ever put together.

“Lexington is high fashion, I wear all designer when I’m there,” she said. “Everyone was like, ‘I had to do a double take, you’re totally channeling Lainey Wilson’ and I said, ‘Yes, that’s what I was going for.’

Also, like the Svanstedts, Stoebe had been to Harrisburg before making her first stop at the sale in Lexington.

“Lexington, it’s a whole another level,” Stoebe said. “I feel like Lexington, it’s about the experience, the dinners, the camaraderie, really nice horses, fashion, everything. Whereas, Harrisburg is show up and buy horses.

“They’re completely different atmospheres. It’s apples and oranges. It’s show jumping versus rodeo. There’s a lot of pomp and circumstance about Lexington.”

Lynn Curry signed the slip this year for Hip #25 Always Juggling ($150,000), while his wife did the same for Hip #36 Elietta ($335,000).

Like Burke, most horsepeople have a spot they sit in year after year, and for trainer Marcus Melander, that’s the back ring outside the sale office.

“The first year I was here was 2014,” Melander said. “I still worked for Jimmy [Takter] and I was going to open up my own stable after the sale. So, I bought some horses, but it was like the very last day for very cheap. The first couple of days here, I just walked around, and watched all these nice horses.”

That was back before Melander had his coveted spot.

“Now, I’m in a very fortunate position to be buying a lot of horses the first couple of days here,” he said. “So, at that time in my career, you know, we could just afford a couple on the last couple of days, but it was a great experience.

“It’s very nice here compared to how the sales work in Sweden, like the arena and everything. In Sweden, it’s more maybe like Harrisburg, but it’s very nice here with all the barns and everything, so yeah, it was fun.”

Melander signed the ticket for a total of 15, but there’ll be at least two more coming his way via owner Jeffrey Snyder, who purchased Hip #4 Lake Placid ($700,000) and Hip #76 Indestructible ($600,000) on the first night of the sale.

Team Tritton, trainer Shane and driver Lauren, were sitting a little closer to the snack bar near the back ring.

“My first experience at Lexington was, day one, quite a shock,” Lauren said. “The money that gets thrown around is quite impressive, but the tremendous looking animals at this sale is one thing I do notice. There are a lot of big athletic looking horses here and it’s a prestigious sale and the farms do such a tremendous job with their horses.

Lauren said she and Shane first came to Lexington three years ago just as observers, not to buy.

“The second year we came, we bought a couple of Huntsvilles, a couple of Perfect Stings, and this year we’ve really thrown the spanner in the works and I got a couple of Chapter Sevens and Captaintreacherouses and I’m really excited to take them on board,” she said.

Lauren said the sales here are different from what she was used to back home in Australia.

“Because our foaling year was different,” she said. “It is the same now, but our foaling year was in August, so the horses were built differently. I think the ones here are more mature, bigger, and I think Australia was a little bit behind at that point and not as much money.”

Trainer/driver Joe Bongiorno has been coming to Lexington for a while, but five years ago, as part of his sister Jen Bongiorno’s stable, really stands out to him.

“The first real big year, we had an owner, this was with Jen’s stable, but Michael Cote Gagnon was a big owner of ours at the time and he’s buying a horse for me this year,” Joe said. “He’s getting back involved with us, but we bought the filly Zanatta [in 2021 for $115,000] who we did very well with.

“We also bought a filly, Bella Ciao [also 2021 for $300,000], who had a lot of residual broodmare value… she’s actually selling a first foal this year, I think very early tonight [Oct. 5]. I think it’s Hip #16, a very nice horse that she produced and we’re hoping that she does well.

“Each year I’m getting the hang of things more and more it seems like, and just being able to get around and look at as many horses as I can look at, that are within reason and within what I’m looking for.”

Bongiorno thinks some things have changed slightly over the years he’s been coming to Lexington.

“I mean, it’s become more and more of a trotters sale, I would say,” he said. “I think you get a little bit bigger of a crowd here, but I think they spend more money here, where I think you can get a little bit more bang for your buck at Harrisburg.

“But that being said, you know, this is the place to be. Everybody loves being out here and trying to find the right one within reason.”

Trainer Julie Miller and her husband/driver, Andy Miller, were also by the back ring looking for the right one to take home.

Julie was a teenager on her first visit to the sale in Lexington.

“Oh, my word, I was very young,” she said. “I was probably 15 or 16. I probably stayed 10 seats back from the big players [in the main ring] and observed and said, ‘Someday, I want to be them buying those nice horses.’

“The first horse I bought here was a Cambest filly. We gave $4,600 for her. We were still at Sportsman’s Park at that time.”

Julie said it is nice to see how things have changed since her first trip.

“The Kentucky program is just phenomenal,” she said. “You feel the buzz here. I mean, this is why we do what we do. We’re trying to find the next champions.”

Although he doesn’t have a specific spot where he sits every year, Jim Campbell remembers when you couldn’t get a seat.

“I was working for Glen Garnsey and I wanted to sit inside, but back then, they were all reserved,” he said. “There were so many people here back then that they were reserved for, you know, major owners and trainers, and at the Sunday sale, they weren’t reserved, so it was like a big treat on the Sunday sale to go sit inside… I was in awe. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Even though times have changed, Campbell said it still feels special at Lexington.

“I get to sit inside now,” Campbell said with a laugh. “I think they’re not reserved anymore. If I’m bidding on a horse, I like to be inside. A lot of people have their preference to be out here [in the back ring], because there’s action going on. It’s good.”

When told that the when the Burkes first came to Lexington they weren’t sure if they were allowed to sit in the main ring, but now they have a spot in the back of that same ring, Campbell said with a laugh, “Well, Ronnie buys enough horses he can go sit up with the auctioneer if he wants to.”

Campbell added, “A horse sale’s like a horse race, you don’t know what’s going to happen. But the one thing, though, a good horse can come from anywhere.”