Thoughts and observations pre and during first day Harrisburg

by Murray Brown

I’ve been and continue to be a fan of Anthony MacDonald’s TheStable‘s daily posts on YouTube. I agree with most, but not all of his thoughts.

One opinion that he expressed on his way to Harrisburg resonated greatly and is one with which I am in total agreement.

These are not his exact words, but he said something to the effect of “If you think training and racing horses can be tough, its nothing compared to breeding and raising them.”

A case in point was Hip #110 on Day 1 at Harrisburg.

On paper this colt had it all. He could very well have been the sale topper. He is no less a sibling to Beau Jangles who became the highest priced standardbred ever sold at public auction on Friday (Nov. 6) thanks to a winning bid of $3.7 million.

He is the second foal from a young Art Major mare who is an immediate descendent of Horse of the Year Bunny Lake and traces to the greatest pacing family in the history of our sport. He is by the venerable Bettors Delight and is likely one of the last yearlings to be marketed from the stallion who is the leading money producing stallion of all breeds by a margin of tens of millions of dollars. He is the type of colt that breeders can only dream of having in their consignment. So, what happens? The colt suffered a catastrophic injury which necessitated his not being sold and, in all probability, curtails any possibility of his becoming a racehorse.

You might argue that Bettors Delight is beyond the point where his yearlings are in demand. The buyers the first day at Harrisburg obviously didn’t think so. His four yearlings brought in Hip # order: $40,000, $95,000, $150,000, and $120,000. Four yearlings by a 28-year-old stallion selling for $405,000 and averaging over $100,000 almost certainly has never before been attained.

Speaking of geriatrics, I counted 30 mares who were represented by their seventh or higher foal on Day 1. These 30 yearlings sold for $3,298,000, averaging $109,933.

On the other extreme, there were 46 first foals from their dams on Day 1. They brought $3,874,000, an average of $84,217. What does this prove? Nothing, except that you can probably sell a yearlings reasonably well regardless of how many foals a mare has had.

The Canadians were a factor — with a vengeance. Apparently, they hadn’t heard about any trade wars with the United States or far more likely didn’t care. They effected Day 1 greatly and continued to do so in virtually every category as the sale progressed, as breeders, consignors, through their sires and perhaps most importantly as buyers accounting for many millions of dollars of sale revenue.

The relatively small (for Harrisburg), breeding operation of Dean and Ashley Wilson led all consignors in average with their six yearlings bringing $527,000, an average of $87,833.

In terms of purchases, as best as I’ve been able to ascertain, on Day 1, Canadians bought 41 of the 176 yearlings sold for a total of $4,443,000 an average of well over $100,000. That is not counting those purchased by Canadians such as Andrew Harris and Fred Grant who now make the United States their home. That also does not include those bought by American trainers on behalf of Canadian owners.

It was nice to see dear friend, 85-year-old Myron Bell, now weighing in at a fighting weight of 178 pounds return to Harrisburg after an absence of several years. Like all of us, Bell has his good and perhaps maybe, not the best points.

One thing that is absolutely certain is that Bell’s presence is an asset to any horse sale, not only by what he buys and bids on (he rarely is not the buyer on what he bids on), but as an influencer.

Bell is a font of knowledge when it comes to standardbred’s and their pedigrees. There is likely no one else in this business of ours who is in possession of so much information and knowledge regarding our horses and the sport. Welcome back Bell. I only wish this fellow geriatric was there to join you.

I’ll close in saying how much I’ve missed not being there.

I believe that this year’s Harrisburg yearling sale was the best it has been in several years.

Harrisburg has been a big part of my life for over 65 years. Counting the time I’ve spent there, both before and during the sales, I’m guessing that added up to about four, maybe five entire years of my life.

It is doubtful whether I’ll ever return, however due to the marvels of modern technology, I’ve been able to live vicariously through the sale on my handy laptop.

I’ll continue doing so through the mixed sale.