Category: Mary Ruyle

Texas Summer Yearling Sale Posts Huge Gains Across the Board

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The Texas Summer Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale, which was held Monday, August 30th at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie recorded sizable increases in gross sales, average and median with a Texas-bred colt by Too Much Bling topping the auction. 

 

A total of 228 yearlings went through the ring with 176 selling for $3,219,600, a 138.9% percent increase from last year when 106 of 137 sold for $1,347,700. The yearling average this year came in at $18,293, a jump of 43.9% from last year’s $12,714. The median soared to $10,000 this year, up 96.1% percent from $5,100. The buy-back rate was 22.8% this year compared to 22.6% last year.  

 

There were also three horses of racing age in the sale this year, which sold for a total of $17,500. Last year’s auction had 15 older horses sell for a total of $162,500. 

 

“The numbers are almost overwhelming compared to last year, and this sale exceeded even our very high expectations,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “The recent gains in purses and breeding incentives in Texas, along with the strong programs in place in Louisiana and Oklahoma, have helped make this a very powerful regional marketplace. This is truly one of the best sales we’ve ever had in Texas.” 

 

“We recently announced increased purses of $300,000 for sale horses to run at in the two divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity, and we added a total of $200,000 for a Derby and Oaks race, so that has attracted some extra interest,” added Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association.  

 

Proving the point about the resurgence of interest in Texas racing, the sale-topper was Hip 101, an accredited Texas-bred colt by Too Much Bling, who stands at Valor Farm and is a perennial leading sire in the state. Consigned by Benchmark Training Center, agent, and purchased by Finisterre Racing, the April 3 foal sold for $175,000. The colt is out of Swifterthantaylor, a multiple winning daughter of another top Texas stallion at Valor Farm, My Golden Song. Swifterthantaylor’s first starter is a stakes-placed winner.  

 

Two other horses sold for six figures, both Louisiana-bred colts. A son of Not This Time named Star Redemption sold for $120,000 from Clear Creek Stud, agent, to Al and Bill Ulwelling, and a son of Violence sold for $100,000 from 4M Ranch, agent, to Set-Hut LLC. 

 

For complete results, go to www.ttasales.com. 

TTA Announces Expanded $500,000 Stakes Program for Texas Sale Graduates

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The Texas Thoroughbred Association is pleased to introduce a revamped Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity and the new Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby and Oaks, with purses totaling more than $500,000.

 

The races are restricted to horses that go through the ring at the upcoming Texas Summer Yearling Sale on August 30 or the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale this coming spring. Horses need not be Texas-breds to be eligible, and the new format eliminates the previous payment schedule.

 

“In the last two years, Texas Thoroughbred racing has shown a resurgence due to the increased purse money at Lone Star Park and Sam Houston Race Park,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “To continue to build on that progress, the TTA has revamped the Futurity and created a Derby and Oaks with significantly increased purses for all those races. We look forward to our yearling sale on August 30. Our goal is to create greater value for breeders, consignors and buyers.”

 

The revamped Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity will feature divisions for 2-year-old fillies and colts/geldings with $150,000 guaranteed for each division. Both divisions will be run at 5 ½ furlongs on closing weekend of the 2022 Lone Star Park Thoroughbred meet. The races previously offered purses of approximately $100,000 apiece.

 

The new Texas Thoroughbred Association Derby and Oaks will be held at Sam Houston Race Park in 2023. The Derby and Oaks will be run on the dirt at a distance of one mile or more. Both races will carry purses of $100,000-added.

 

For more information on the races go to texasthoroughbred.com and for Texas Summer Yearling Sales information go to ttasales.com.

Texas Summer Yearling Sale Attracts Record Number of Entries

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The Texas Summer Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale, set for Monday, August 30, at Lone Star Park, will feature a record number of entries with nearly 250 yearlings consigned to the Southwest’s biggest auction. The sale, held jointly by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park, will begin at 10 a.m. in the sales pavilion on the grounds of the Dallas-area track.

“This will easily be our largest sale since taking the reins from Fasig-Tipton in 2016,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We’ve seen some solid growth over the past few years, despite the challenges of the health pandemic, and now we’ve really hit a milestone this year. We have several new consignors for this sale, and the sire power is stronger than I can ever remember seeing here.”

In addition to nearly 250 yearlings, there are three 2-year-olds in the sale.

“Texas racing and breeding have been on the upswing thanks to the Horse Industry Escrow Account authorized by the Texas Legislature, which has helped boost purses and breeding incentives,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “That in turn has increased interest in our sales and allowed us to develop a consignor rebate program. We are also pleased to introduce the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Derby to be run in 2023 to complement the very popular Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity.”

Details on the Sales Derby are still being finalized, but the race for sale graduates is expected to offer two divisions (one for fillies and one for colts/geldings) with an estimated purse of $75,000 apiece at Sam Houston Race Park. The Sales Futurity also offers two divisions at $100,000-estimated apiece at Lone Star.

The TTA and Lone Star will host a pre-sale party for consignors and buyers on Sunday, August 29, at 6:30 p.m. in the Alysheba room on the second floor of the Lone Star grandstand.

The yearling sale comes on the heels of the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale held in April, which posted the highest gross, average and median since the TTA and Lone Star took over both sales in 2016.

Online bidding and live online video will be offered on this sale. For more information and to view the sale catalogue, go to www.ttasales.com.

Catalog Now Online for Texas Summer Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale, Online Bidding to Be Offered

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A catalog of 175 head is now online for the Texas Summer Yearling and Horses of Racing Age Sale set for August 24 at 12 noon CDT at Lone Star Park at Grand Prairie. Sponsored by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park, the sale will welcome bidders on site with enhanced safety protocols and for the first time will also offer live online bidding for those who cannot attend in person. Online Bidders must be registered at one week before the sale, no later than 12 noon on August 17.

“We had to cancel our 2-year-old sale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and we’ve been working since then to ensure we are able to conduct this sale because of its importance to the region,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “We normally wouldn’t have a horses of racing age session at this sale, but we are happy to offer that this year to fill the needs of consignors and buyers. The HORA section is quite impressive.”

Ruyle credited higher purses in Texas and a new consignor incentive program as two of the reasons that this year’s sale has twice the number of yearlings as last year.

“In addition to boosting purses in Texas, the passage of HB 2463 allows the horse industry to create new ways to grow, so we were able to provide consignors with a rebate of up to half the consignment fee,” she said. “We saw a great response to that incentive, which resulted in more consignors bringing their horses to sell in Texas.”

The sale will utilize a live online bidding system along with improved online video. 

“We made an investment in technology to allow buyers to bid from anywhere,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “Starting in early August we will allow online bidders to register in advance, so we encourage anyone who is interested to do that on our website.”

The sale will kick off with a horses of racing age session including 2-year-olds in training by top sires such as Too Much Bling, Texas Red, Astrology and Twirling Candy. Among the older horses on offer are Herbs Love, a daughter of Etesaal who in her most recent start won the $75,000 San Jacinto Turf Stakes at Lone Star Park.

The yearling session will include 151 head by leading regional sires such as Too Much Bling, Star Guitar, Flat Out, Court Vision and My Golden Song. Top national sires including Tonalist, Sky Mesa, Bayern, Honor Code and California Chrome are also represented.

The online catalog and more information are available at www.ttasales.com.

 

For more information, contact Mary Ruyle at maryr@texasthoroughbred.com or 512-458-6133

TTA Cancels Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet, Extends Membership Promotion

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The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced that its 2020 Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet will not be held this year. The event was originally scheduled for March at Sam Houston Race Park but could not be held then due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was ultimately decided to cancel it for this year. The awards video honoring the 2019 Texas Champions was unveiled earlier this month on the TTA’s Facebook page (click here to view the video), and all award winners will have their trophies shipped to them. Any TTA members who previously registered for the event will have those fees refunded.
“As much as we wanted to hold our annual meeting and awards banquet this year, it simply was not feasible,” said Mary Ruyle, the TTA’s executive director. “We do intend to bring back the event in 2021 and will be looking at how we might be able to honor the 2019 and 2020 Texas Champions then.”
The TTA also announced that it has extended its “Texas Trifecta” membership promotion through the end of 2020. Originally scheduled to end on June 30, the promotion allows new and renewing TTA members to get a free year of membership when they buy two years. Additionally, $20 from each membership will be donated to a Thoroughbred aftercare organization of the member’s choice among LOPE Texas, Remember Me Rescue or The Paddock Foundation.
More information on the membership promotion is available by clicking here.

Texas 2-Year-Old Sale Cancelled, Consignments to be Promoted Online

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(March 23, 2020 – Austin, Texas) — The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park have announced that the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale scheduled for April 3 has been cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic. All entry fees for the sale will be refunded.

 

It was also announced that all horses currently nominated to the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity at Lone Star Park will remain eligible provided the final payment of $350 is made. All horses entered in the 2-year-old sale will be considered to have passed through the sales ring for the purposes of eligibility for the race. Additionally, the April 15 due date for the final payment has been pushed back to May 15. The Texas Thoroughbred Futurity, with a fillies and colts/geldings division for a $100,000-estimated purse apiece, is scheduled for July 12 at Lone Star. The TTA and Lone Star will make a future announcement should a date change be needed.

 

“We are obviously disappointed to cancel this sale, especially with a record number of consignments, but it’s really the only option at this point and postponing the sale simply was not feasible,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “We are leaving the sale catalogue online and making some enhancements so that potential buyers can view photos and videos submitted by consignors and make contact to negotiate private sales.”

 

In the coming weeks, the TTA will accept photos and videos from consignors to be added to the sale website at www.ttasales.com. The online repository will also be opened to help consignors market their horses. Each consignor’s contact information will be listed so that buyers can make direct contact about a private sale. The TTA will not track or collect commissions on any private sales.

 

“We feel this was probably the best group of horses to be catalogued to this sale in over a decade, so we encourage potential buyers to view the horses being offered,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “We truly appreciate all the support from consignors, so we are working to make the best of this situation and help buyers and sellers get connected.”

 

The Texas Summer Yearling Sale is set for August 24 at Lone Star and will also include a horses of racing age session.

Record Number of Entries in Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, New Incentives Announced

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The Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park are pleased to announce a record number of consignments to the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. A total of 182 head, pending the addition of supplements, have been entered in the sale set for Friday, April 3, at 12 noon at Lone Star. The under tack show will be held Wednesday, April 1, at 10 a.m. at the track.

This year’s head count is up nearly 35 percent from last year’s 135 (including supplements) and more than double the number in the 2016 sale, which was the first held jointly by the TTA and Lone Star.

“We expected to have more entries after the passage of beneficial legislation in Texas last year, but we were a little surprised by just how much interest there’s been from both consignors and buyers,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “We are excited about the two incentive programs related to this sale and the overall increase in purses in Texas and incentives for Accredited Texas-breds.”

The passage of H.B. 2463 is expected to inject up to $25 million annually into the Texas horse industry, and its effect is already being seen with increased purses in 2020 for the current Sam Houston Race Park meet and upcoming Lone Star meet.

In addition, money generated by H.B. 2463 is being used to provide a rebate of up to one-half of the entry fee to consignors at this sale. Plus, all graduates of this sale will be eligible for a new purse incentive program for all races this year at Texas tracks. The incentive is available for all graduates, regardless of where they were bred.

As always, sale graduates will be eligible for the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity this summer at Lone Star with divisions for fillies and colts/geldings offering purses of $100,000-estimated apiece.

The list of nationally prominent stallions in the sale is far more extensive than in recent years, including Animal Kingdom, Bodemeister, Candy Ride, Fusaichi Pegasus, Goldencents, Kitten’s Joy, Maclean’s Music, Overanalyze, Palace, Tapiture and Uncle Mo.

This year’s catalog includes offspring of many of the Southwest’s leading and emerging stallions, including Astrology, Bradester, Court Vision, Custom for Carlos, Early Flyer, Flat Out, Half Ours and Too Much Bling.

For more information and the online catalog, including photos and videos after the under tack show, go to ttasales.com.

Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale Set for March 31

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The 2020 Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale has been scheduled for Tuesday, March 31, at Lone Star Park. The breeze show will be held at the Dallas-area track on Sunday, March 29. The auction is a joint venture by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park. 

“Our yearling and mixed sale at Lone Star Park in August had gross sales and average prices both jumping by more than 20 percent, and we expect that momentum to continue into the 2-year-old sale,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “The Southwest area has been strong for many years, and now with this very important legislation recently passed to boost the industry in Texas the region will get even stronger.” 

Sale graduates will be eligible for the 2020 Texas Thoroughbred Futurity to be run in divisions for fillies and colts/geldings at Lone Star in July. The estimated purse for each division is $100,000. 

“With new legislation passed to enhance purse money at Texas tracks and funds for the Accredited Texas-bred program, there is a lot of optimism for 2020 and beyond,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “We’ve already noticed an uptick in interest as breeding season approaches, so that bodes well for the future of Texas racing and breeding.”

The entry deadline for the sale is January 15, 2020, and consignment contracts and more information is available at www.ttasales.com.

Amber Doege Joins TTA as Accreditation Manager and Racing Coordinator

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The Texas Thoroughbred Association is pleased to announce the hiring of Amber Doege as Accreditation Manager and Racing Coordinator. Doege is replacing Jennifer Gibbs, who is retiring later this year after 20 years of service at the Lone Star State’s largest breed organization.

Doege, whose father, Glenn, was a longtime trainer based in Texas, brings nearly 20 years of experience in the industry. Her previous positions in horse racing include assistant racing secretary, stakes coordinator, horse identifier, paddock judge, placing judge and claims clerk at tracks around the region such as Retama Park, Lone Star Park, Delta Downs and Fair Grounds. Doege earned a bachelor’s degree at Texas State University with a major in animal science.

Doege’s responsibilities will cover the Accredited Texas-bred program, Clarence Scharbauer Jr. Texas Stallion Stakes and Texas Thoroughbred Futurity as well as the two Thoroughbred sales held jointly by the TTA and Lone Star Park.

“I’m very excited to be joining the TTA team,” said Doege. “I know that I have big shoes to fill but Jennifer has spared no effort to make sure this transition is smooth.”

“I know I speak for countless TTA members in saying that we will miss the knowledge and passion that Jennifer brought to the position for many years, but we are also thrilled to welcome Amber to the team,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “She brings a wide range of experience in the industry, and she’ll do a great job serving our membership, especially now with an increase in purses and Accredited Texas-bred program funds thanks to the recent passage of legislation.”

Catalogue for Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale Continues to Grow

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(Austin, TX – February 28, 2018) — A total of 126 head have been consigned for the Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale on April 10starting at 12 noon at the Texas Thoroughbred Sale Pavilion at Lone Star Park. The under tack show is set for April 8 at 11:00 a.m. at the track located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

This catalogue represents a 20-percent increase in the number of head compared to last year, and the sale has also eclipsed itself with a considerably-improved quality in pedigrees. Such national sires as Blame, Congrats, Curlin, Flat Out, Gemologist, Into Mischief, Jimmy Creed, Kantharos, Kitten’s Joy, Munnings, Orb, Paynter, Point of Entry, Shanghai Bobby, Stay Thirsty, Street Boss, Street Sense, Tiznow, Twirling Candy and Uncle Mo give evidence that the sale has surged upward after the solid performance of last year’s auction. Cairo’s Prince and Will Take Charge lead a list of first-year sires that includes Can the Man, Cross Traffic, Goldencents, Moro Tap, Shakin It Up and Sum of the Parts. Leading the regional sire contingent is Texas’ leading sire Too Much Bling, with solid company from Closing Argument, Euroears, Grasshopper, Half Ours, Intimidator, My Golden Song and Special Rate.

The sale again features a unique interactive online catalogue where consignors can post photos and videos as well as the pedigrees of their sale horses for buyer perusal prior to the gallop show. This year the gallop show is being filmed by the Ocala, Florida-based group Dillon Video and Photo and is expected to be online shortly after the gallop show on April 8. 

“I am very excited about this year’s sale,” commented Sale Director Tim Boyce. “Along with the solid increase in numbers and quality, I look forward to working with the Dillon crew for the production of our under tack show. This is something the market has wanted, and I am glad we are able to give it.”

The cover of this year’s catalogue features the 2017 winners of both divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity at Lone Star Park, Carl Moore and Brad Grady’s Galactica and Susan Moulton’s Janae. Both horses went through the ring at last year’s two-year-old sale and gave early returns to their owners. The two divisions of the race this summer are estimated to have purses of $100,000 apiece.

This will mark the third juvenile sale held by the Texas Thoroughbred Association in partnership with Lone Star Park. The 2016 auction featured 85 head, and the catalogue grew to 105 head last year.  

“It’s very gratifying to see that we’ve been able to attract about 20 more head each year,” said TTA Executive Director Mary Ruyle. “Our goal was to re-establish a viable marketplace for consignors and buyers from around the Southwest, and the increased catalogue size each year shows that we are on the way to doing that.”

Catalogues will be mailed out the first week of March. The sale can now be viewed on the TTA Sales website at www.ttasales.com as well on the Equineline Sales Catalogue app.