Question for breeders who send to sales

Talk about upcoming sales or auction results.

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oleos93
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Question for breeders who send to sales

Postby oleos93 » Fri May 11, 2012 5:09 pm

I have never sold any of my offspring at any sales, always been private.

My question to any breeders that focus on sales is, what do feel you do better at as far as what buyers are looking for....for example weanlings VS 1 yr olds VS 2 year olds etc?

I have a nice yearling I am considering but should I wait until she is 2 or would it be in my best interest to sell as a yearling?

What are your own personal reasons for what age you prefer to sell at or is it beyond personal and just what you feel buyers want? And do you take pedigree into consideration as far as what age you sell?

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karenkarenn
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Postby karenkarenn » Sat May 12, 2012 2:36 pm

I know that there are others on this forum that can explain alot more than I can. First off, it is a buyers market out there now.
With that being said, the first thing that I would ask myself is. 1. The bills run about 900 to 1200 a month. And you don't get to have a say on what they do for sales prep. You need to take the consignors advice and let them do their job. They are going to be scoped as yearlings for the sale. You do want that. And thats another expense to sell the yearling at a sale. They are going to be shod and you might or might not have the choice of that.
2. You got to find out how that sire is doing on the market and where at in the market, which state. Idaho doesn't have any big sales like barretts, and Colorado wants you to be the consignor and sales prep the horse.Barretts and Washington are big and Wa is becoming bigger.
3. You have to pay the sales co money to sell your horse. And that depends on where you sell the horse if you sell. When my mare didn't sell I had to pay 470 which is 10% of the last reserve. They keep your jockey club papers until you paid the bill- if your horses isn't sold.
4. You have to pay the consignor what the share of the expenses are, things like gas, a new halter food lodging, ect ect. That can be expensive and you don't have a say in what they can do and can't do with their lives or where they hotel at, sometimes it s between 600 and 1000 at the end.The Consignor will give you a contract to sell your horse (s) and it will clearly state what you will be paying but you don't know how much it is until the end.

5. I would if I were you pick a well known transportation company and not just someone that doesn't have a trailer or knows nothing about horses just so you can save money. You don't want some shmuck ruining your horse and there are withdrawl costs too.
6. Pedigree is alot, people are going to look at everything, what the mare produced, where did she run and how. They will look at the stallion and all the info, what the babies are doing ect.
7. They will look at confirmation on the horse. If the horse can stand up, present his or herself and look the part.
This is not a cheap venture, not something that you can cut back on expenses on. It's not something that you can just walk in with your horse and say ta da here I am.

Now weanlings are different they won't be scoped but you don't want them with a sales prep company that will do its job and once you pick them you have to trust them. And leave it alone. And thats the 900 to 1200 a month, shots, coggins, everything plus. But you might not get a higher price with the weanlings as you would a yearling or two year old.
Personal Reasons: I just wanted to experience a sale to understand what had to be done.
2 year olds now that's another ball game. They have to be broke, sound, scoped, vetted working on the track with the consignor, shod, could be 40 to 65 a day. Staying with a consignor or trainer OR farm for a while. Then what CAN happen is they may injure themselves at the sale itself and so all that money wasted for him or her to get hurt because they want speed now.. Running hard sometimes the riders whip them. Oh and another thing, if the horse sells you owe the consignor a peice of that too, don't forget that cost because it ads up.
:idea: :idea: :!:

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Postby Crystal » Sat May 12, 2012 7:12 pm

unless you have a BIG, SCOPEY, Bad ass looking horse from a commercial pedigree you should stay out of the sales because it will be losing venture.

oleos93
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Postby oleos93 » Sat May 12, 2012 8:33 pm

Money is not the biggest factor for me......selling to a racing home where they would end up on the track is my focus. Public it is hit or miss but I would assume most that go to the TB sales they are looking for something to race.

I am not looking to do this all the time and the money factor is not what I am wanting to know....it is what the auction market (buyers) are looking for so I know if I should keep my filly for another year or put her in as a yearling....what sells better and what folks are looking for.

She is out of a mare that has had foals sell quit well....one of her grand babies sold at the WA sale for just over 40k......and her Get sold well at one point.

Just wanting to know what age is best and what buyers are looking for as far as age.


I sold a mare/weanling to a race home in FL privately, only got $2000 for both, but she is racing well and is now 4. I just like to see that what I bred gets to the track.

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Postby Crystal » Sat May 12, 2012 8:58 pm

I'm not trying to talk you into/out of anything but be aware - it is a public auction. Meaning you have no control, no say, no anything to do with day to day decision making once they are sold. So if you are comfortable with that then give it a try. A buyer maybe thankful that the breeder of the horse offers info or interest in how their former horse is doing, dont be offended if they get sold, claimed, don't make it to the races or the new buyer doesn't contact you again.

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Postby oleos93 » Sun May 13, 2012 12:16 am

For the latter part of what you said is probably why I have not gone the auction route all these years.......I'm at that time in the breeding game where I can let go of the reins and it not bother me as much.

It is what it is, and I am fine with that....my mare and foal I sold to FL was easy for me as I did not have a huge attachment. I do get attached but am learning not to as much.

In my opinion though the auction route may hold a little more assumption that they will run......I just want to get educated as far as what the auction public looks for OTHER then pedigree. Like what I mentioned at the first post, weanlings VS 1 yr olds VS 2 year olds etc. I'm aware of the cost etc I just have never paid attention and have ZERO experience with sales to know what most owners are looking for.

If I am going to push for my 1 year old to go to a sale I would like to know the best route and if I should keep her another year and get her sale ready as a 2 year old. If stats show 2 yr olds sell better regardless of pedigree then that would factor in my decision.....know what I mean? :lol:

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karenkarenn
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Postby karenkarenn » Sun May 13, 2012 7:14 am

Like we are trying to tell you it depends in the pedigree and the horse. what is the sire and who is the dam?

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Jessi P
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Postby Jessi P » Sun May 13, 2012 10:21 am

I believe that there is a slight difference in what most buyers are looking for in a yearling and a 2 yo.

As a yearling, they are looking for a 1) well conformed individual with 2) a good COMMERCIAL pedigree (meaning by a sire who sells well and showing black type under the first dam or second dam at the very least) and 3) an athletic body and a good flowing walk.

As 2 year olds they are looking for 1) the well conformed individual with 2) the same good pedigree mentioned above and 3) an athletic body, ready to breeze 1/8 or a 1/4 and who demonstrates that they have a good foundation of galloping work and are physically able to go out and breeze in the sale in a respectable time without incident. Buyers will watch the horse to see that it knows the racetrack routine and is able to produce a satisfactory workout with no bad habits. Videos of each breeze are available for review.

Secondary considerations can include : is the horse eligible for a state bred program, is the horse by sire who is currently "hot" in the sales ring or who have recently had a big winner (i.e. Flower Alley). I am sure other people can add to this list.

IMO there is considerably more expense and risk involved in getting a horse to a 2 yo sale in one piece than a yearling sale but perhaps others would like to chime in here.
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griff
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Postby griff » Thu May 17, 2012 12:34 pm

agree

Selling 2 YO In training is very expensive. Also, not only must the 2 YO be commercially bred but he must be mature, mentally and especially physically.

And he has to do a furlong work in less than 12 seconds and come out of it OK or you'll not get your prep costs back. <11 seconds is better than < 12 and will get your horse attention, provided he is not lame the next day.

I think most people will net a better return selling yearlings.

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Postby aurora » Thu May 17, 2012 12:55 pm

Buyers want masculine colts that look like quarter horses with long legs. Fillys, the same look but they don't bring as much money. They also want the yearling to be by a commercial sire..or at least one of the top regional sires if selling in a regional market. If the yearling is a 1st or 2nd foal then the mare's produce record is unknown so buyers look at mare's race record if she has one and then next at the broodmare sire and black type in the 2nd dam. If the dam has had more than a few then buyers look between the words 1st dam and 2nd dam and there should be at least some black type or else 6 figure earnings.

Two year olds in training need to run a fast work period. A large portion of these go unsold.

I'm in the mid-west and i figure it costs about 5k to sell at Keeneland/Fasig and that is if I send the yearling to KY within 30 days of the sale.