By Sarah Mace
Juveniles representing the New York breeding program at the recently concluded Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company’s 2022 Spring Sale of 2-Year-Olds in Training eclipsed the results of their New York-bred counterparts at the three previous renewals of the annual auction. To be sure, New York-breds at OBS April in 2021 rebounded robustly from 2020 (the year most adversely affected by Covid in and out of the sales ring). However, the 2022 cohort outdid the 2021 group by far, generating a 37.5% rise in average price year-over-year and a whopping 87.5% rise in median. Total sales were up and RNAs were down.
The 2019-2022 window of New York-bred performance at OBS April paints the following picture. If we regard 2019 as a “baseline” year, in 2020 the country experienced peak negative effects from Covid, fiscal and otherwise. That year New York-breds at OBS April experienced declines in all the major indicators and an elevated RNA percentage. Total sales sank 28.9% to $3,627,000 in 2020 from $5,100,000 in 2019. The 2020 average of $65,945 dipped 10.8% from $73,913 the prior year, along with a 17.8% decline in median from $45,000 to $37,000. RNAs rose to 30.4% in 2020 from 22.5% in 2019. High-end sales activity also dipped in 2020, with a marked drop in the number of individuals bringing $200,000 and up, and $100,000 and up (see details in the chart below).
The 2021 edition of OBS April represented not merely a year of recovery, but also a decided resurgence of popularity for New York-bred juveniles at this auction. Specifically, New York-breds netted total sales of $5,978,500 and produced an average price of $80,791 at OBS April 2021, even outperforming the “pre-Covid” 2019 results of $5,100,000 in total sales and $73,913 average.
It might reasonably have been concluded that the New York-bred rebound in 2021 would set the table for a “correction” that would return the New York-bred results of 2022 closer to 2019 levels. Instead, the group at OBS April 2022 group exceeded New York-bred performance throughout this entire window.
New York-Bred Juveniles at OBS Spring 2019-2022
2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
| Catalogued | 135 | 133 | 121 | 111 |
| Offered | 89 | 79 | 92 | 70 |
| Sold | 69 (incl. 12 PS*) | 55 (incl. 10 PS*) | 74 (incl. 13 PS*) | 57 (incl. 8 PS*) |
| Total Sales | $5,100,000 | $3,627,000 | $5,978,500 | $6,334,000 |
| RNA% | 22.5 | 30.4 | 19.6 | 18.6 |
| Average | $73,913 | $65,945 | $80,791 | $111,123 |
| Median | $45,000 | $37,000 | $40,000 | $75,000 |
| Number 200K+ | 5 | 2 | 8 | 11 |
| Number 100K+ | 18 | 10 | 20 | 24 |
| Top Seller | $350,000 (PS) | $700,000 | $685,000 | $535,000 |
*PS=Post Sale
OBS April 2022, conducted from Tuesday through Friday, April 19-22, catalogued over 1200 horses, including 111 New York-breds. It is worth noting that there was a slight reduction in the size of the New York-bred cohort. In all, 70 New York-breds were offered after “outs,” the fewest in the 2019-2022 window, and 57 lots were sold, nearly matching the recent low of 55 in 2020 and well off from the recent high of 74 last year. (Some private sales might not yet have been reported, however.) While a somewhat reduced supply could have been a factor in spurring demand and higher prices, there is no question that the overall results for York-bred OBS April juveniles are impressive in their own right.
Total New York-bred sales at this year’s renewal of OBS April topped out at $6,334,000, 5.9% over last year’s “rebound” results, when the New York-bred cohort fetched $5,978,500, and a whopping 74.6% over the 2020 receipts of $3,627,000 during the Covid dip.
The average price for a New York-bred this year at OBS April came in at $111,123, not just crossing the six-figure threshold but also representing a 37.5% increase over the $80,791 average achieved in 2021. The median price of $75,000 was up a whopping 87.5% over last year’s figure of 40,000. The icing on the cake was the best RNA percentage of the 2019-2022 window: 18.6%.
The next opportunity to see whether this class of New York-bred juveniles can continue their successful run will be the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, in which 126 Empire State-breds are catalogued. The sale will held on Monday and Tuesday, May 23-24, at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium, Maryland.
For coverage of the top-selling New York-bred juveniles session-by-session, click below to read features by NYTB:
Filly by The Lieutenant highlights final OBS April session (click here)
Six-figure sales continue at OBS April (click here)
New York-bred colts soar at OBS April (click here)
Central Banker colt, Bernardini filly highlight OBS April opener (click here)
