Austin, Texas – March 2, 2017 – The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced that the Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale will be held Monday, August 21, at the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park.
Last year’s auction marked the first to be operated by the Texas Thoroughbred Association in partnership with Lone Star Park and recorded substantial increases over the final Texas yearling sale operated by Fasig-Tipton in 2014. The sale-topper was a Texas-bred colt by leading Texas sire Too Much Bling who sold for $105,000.
“After not having a yearling sale in Texas in 2015, I think the results last year proved that there is still ample demand from buyers and quality stock being offered by consignors,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “With this spot on the calendar we expect to be able to draw horses from all around the region, and the central location of Dallas-Fort Worth makes it easy for buyers and sellers to get here.”
“Our 2-year-old sale last year has already produced several stakes winners, and over the years this yearling sale has done the same, mostly recently with multiple graded stakes winner Texas Chrome, so we look forward to having another quality catalog this year,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA.
AUSTIN, TX – Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) confirmed Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy (EHM), the neurologic disease linked to Equine Herpes Virus (EHV-1), in a Denton County barrel racing horse on February 21, 2017.
The horse showed signs of ataxia, loss of coordination of the muscles, and other neurologic signs consistent with EHM when evaluated by a local veterinarian. The premises is under quarantine and TAHC staff is working closely with the owner and veterinarian to implement testing protocols and biosecurity measures.
Prior to confirmation, the positive horse attended barrel racing events at the NRS Arena in Decatur, TX on February 15 and Northside Arena in Fort Worth, TX on February 14. The TAHC has been in contact with event management and veterinarians to ensure enhanced biosecurity measures are taken on the premises and event participants are notified.
While the risk of exposure to the virus was likely low at these events, owners of horses potentially exposed are encouraged to take precautions. Exposed horses should be isolated and have their temperatures monitored twice daily for at least 14 days after last known exposure. If an exposed horse develops a fever or other signs consistent with EHM, diagnostic testing may be performed. Owners should work with their veterinary practitioner to establish appropriate monitoring and diagnostic plans for any potentially exposed horse(s). To learn more, visit http://www.tahc.texas.gov/news/brochures/TAHCBrochure_BiosecurityEquine.pdf.
Symptoms of EHV-1 include fever, which is one of the most common clinical signs and often precedes the development of other signs. Respiratory signs include coughing and nasal discharge. Neurologic signs associated with EHM are highly variable, but often the hindquarters are most severely affected. Horses with EHM may appear weak and uncoordinated. Urine dribbling and loss of tail tone may also be seen. Severely affected horses may become unable to rise.
It is important to remember these signs are not specific to EHM and diagnostic testing is required to confirm EHV-1 infection. Many horses exposed to EHV-1 never develop clinical signs. If you suspect your horse has been exposed to EHV-1, contact your veterinarian.
The equine industry is encouraged to obtain the latest information on this outbreak and other disease events across the country by visiting the Equine Disease Communication Center at: http://www.equinediseasecc.org/outbreaks.aspx.
The Texas Thoroughbred Association is pleased to announce that it has catalogued more than 100 horses for the second annual Texas Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. It is to be held at the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion on the grounds of Lone Star Park on Tuesday, April 4, at noon. The under tack show is set for Sunday, April 2, at Lone Star starting at 11:00 a.m.
“We have almost 25 percent more juveniles in this sale than we did at last year’s inaugural sale,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “Our sire power has also increased significantly, and we have a strong mix of horses bred in Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, and of course also Kentucky, so I think this auction is headed in the right direction.”
Among the nationally prominent sires represented are Bodemeister, Creative Cause, Into Mischief, Midnight Lute, Munnings, Quality Road, Tale of the Cat, Tapizar, The Factor and Twirling Candy in addition to first crop sires Shanghai Bobby, Paynter, Overanalyze and Morning Line.
“I am very pleased with the national sire power our consignors have pointed to the sale,” commented Tim Boyce, sale director, “plus we have horses by top Texas sires like Too Much Bling, Grasshopper and My Golden Song that will also turn some heads. Our sale-topper last year looked like a Richard Stone Reeves print wherever she stood.”
Boyce was referring to Texas-bred Bling on the Music, a daughter of Too Much Bling who sold for $95,000 to Danny Keene from the consignment of Asmussen Horse Center.
“She had the fastest breeze for an 1/8 in the under tack show and was just as gorgeous standing as she was moving,” said Boyce. “And then she went on to win two stakes and place in a Grade 2 at Churchill Downs.”
Videos for the under tack show will be posted online again this year and an enhanced, interactive online catalog will be available allowing consignors to showcase their offerings with additional photos, videos and information.
Graduates of the sale will be eligible for the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Futurity to be run in two $100,000-estimated divisions at Lone Star Park this year.
The catalog is now available online at www.ttasales.com and will be mailed out shortly. The sale will again be live-streamed on the TTA Sales website.
Supplements are still being taken for the sale, and additional consignments will be announced.
The Texas Thoroughbred Association has announced that it will hold its second Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale on April 4, 2017, at Lone Star Park. The under tack show will be April 2, also at Lone Star. Entries for the sale will close January 16.
The TTA, in partnership with Lone Star Park, held its first 2-year-old sale in April, taking over the auction from Fasig-Tipton. This year’s sale posted an average of $18,515 and a buyback rate of 19.7 percent, both significant improvements over the last Fasig-Tipton juvenile sale in 2015. As was the case this year, graduates of the 2017 sale will be eligible for the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity to be run in two divisions at $100,000-estimated apiece at Lone Star. The sale will again be managed by Tim Boyce.
The 2016 2-year-old sale has already produced three stakes winners from 53 head sold, highlighted by Bling on the Music, a Texas-bred daughter of Too Much Bling who topped the sale at $95,000 and has recorded two stakes wins and a placing in the Grade 2 Pocahontas Stakes at Keeneland with earnings of $153,082.
“The results of our first 2-year-old sale, and our first yearling and mixed sale in August, have shown that Texas and the surrounding region can support a strong auction market for both buyers and sellers,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the TTA. “With the experience of those auctions and more time to market the 2-year-old sale, we expect to grow both TTA sales in 2017.”
Lane’s End Texas, one of the Lone Star State’s leading Thoroughbred farms, has closed and the three stallions standing there—Too Much Bling, Grasshopper and Congaree—have been relocated to Valor Farm near Pilot Point, Texas.
Located near Hempstead, Texas, and formerly known as Huisache Farm, Lane’s End Texas stood many of the top Texas stallions over the past two decades, including all-time leading Texas stallion Valid Expectations. William S. Farish, owner of Lane’s End Texas as well as Lane’s End in Kentucky, has been a perennial leading owner and breeder in Texas. The stallions were managed by longtime farm general manager Danny Shifflett.
“I have been very blessed during my time at Lane’s End to work for someone like Mr. Farish and enjoy the type of animals he has produced and the care that he allows you to give to those horses,” said Shifflett. “We had a great staff with some remarkable people who were here for many, many years. We really appreciate the support we received from the Texas industry and from around the country.”
The upcoming Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale on August 29 at Lone Star Park will feature a dispersal of some Lane’s End Texas’ broodmares along with weanlings and yearlings by the farm’s former stallions.
The three Lane’s End Texas stallions will join the roster of another elite farm in the state, Valor Farm. Started by Dorothy and Clarence Scharbauer Jr. in the early 1990s, Valor Farm has also been home to many top Texas stallions over the years including Hadif, Magic Cat and Rare Brick. The farm’s 2016 roster included Crossbow, Early Flyer, Jet Phone and My Golden Song. Over the past few years, Valor Farm stallions have consistently sired Texas-bred graded stakes winners including Promise Me Silver, Fiftyshadesofgold, Thegirlinthatsong and He’s Comin in Hot.
Too Much Bling, currently the leading Texas sire by 2016 progeny earnings, just had his offspring sweep both divisions of the Texas Thoroughbred Futurity earlier this month at Lone Star Park, with both being bred by Farish. From 195 foals of racing age, Too Much Bling has sired 20 blacktype stakes winners, which at 10.2% ranks him highest among all stallions in North America.
Grasshopper, currently #2 on this year’s Texas sire list, is the sire of recent Assault Stakes winner Supermason (also bred by Farish) and Texas Chrome, a four-time stakes winner and runner-up in the Grade 3 Iowa Derby this year.
Congaree, who moved to Texas in 2015, is the sire of six graded stakes winners, including three Grade 1 winners.
The combination of stallions gives Valor Farm six of the top 10 active stallions in the state by 2016 progeny earnings.
“We are so fortunate to have the opportunity to stand these top stallions that Danny and his team have done such a great job with,” said Valor Farm General Manager Ken Carson. “Keeping these horses in Texas is important. The response we’ve gotten from our clients already has been great; people are excited to have them in North Texas.”
TTA Yearling Sale Surpasses 100 Entries, Changes Announced to Texas Thoroughbred Futurity
The Texas Thoroughbred Association announced today that entries for its Texas Summer Yearling and Mixed Sale have surpassed 100, and entries are still being accepted. The sale, which is held in partnership with Lone Star Park, is set for August 29 at the Texas Thoroughbred Sales Pavilion on the grounds of the Dallas-area track. This will mark the return of a summer yearling auction to the state after a one-year hiatus of the auction formerly run by Fasig-Tipton. The TTA also announced changes to the eligibility requirements for the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity.
“We are very pleased to already have more than 100 entries for this sale,” said Tim Boyce, who previously ran the auction for Fasig-Tipton Texas and has continued on to manage the sale for the TTA. “We already have a strong catalogue with two yearlings by Uncle Mo and a strong representation of stallions from around the Southwest. I expect to pick up more quality entries in the coming days.”
Currently the list of entries includes yearlings by top Texas stallions Congaree, Too Much Bling, Grasshopper, Intimidator and My Golden Song, as well as Oklahoma stallions Euroears and Oratory. The sale also features entries sired by prominent nationally-ranked stallions Uncle Mo, Street Boss and Lookin at Lucky.
The mixed session will offer mares by A.P. Indy, Kingmambo, Pulpit, Summer Squall and Valid Expectations.
The Texas Thoroughbred Futurity, which will be run for the first time this year on July 9 at Lone Star with divisions for fillies and colts/geldings at $100,000-estimated apiece, will have an eligibility change for next year’s race.
Each yearling, no matter where foaled, that goes through the ring at the sale is eligible to be nominated to the Futurity. Additionally for every yearling that goes through the ring, its consignor and buyer will each receive a berth, which they can use to nominate an accredited Texas-bred foal of 2015 to the Futurity. Berths can only be used by the original consignor or buyer and cannot be transferred.
“We think this change will raise the value of horses in the sale, and it also serves as an extra incentive for horsemen to participate as a buyer or consignor,” said Boyce.
The Texas Thoroughbred Futurity took the place of the race formerly known as the TTA Sales Futurity.
The Texas Thoroughbred Association will add a mixed session to its summer yearling sale scheduled Aug. 29 at Lone Star Park.
It will be the second auction held by the TTA, which in April offered its 2-year-olds in training sale at Lone Star. Fasig-Tipton formerly managed the Texas sales in partnership with the TTA and Lone Star.
“We’ve already seen strong interest from around the region since we announced the yearling sale, and the addition of a mixed session should only increase participation from both buyers and consignors,” TTA executive director Mary Ruyle said in a release. “We are thrilled to be working with Lone Star Park on this venture and to have Tim Boyce directing our sales.
“With a central location in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and a top-notch sales pavilion at Lone Star Park, we expect our sales to remain a leader in the Southwest.”
The average for the April 2-year-olds in training sale was up 5% compared with the last auction held by Fasig-Tipton, while the buy-back rate dropped to just under 20% from 33%, officials said.
The entry deadline for the yearling and mixed sessions is June 6. The TTA has mailed consignment forms, and they are also available on a new website (www.ttasales.com) dedicated to the organization’s auctions.
Hip #40, a Texas-bred filly by Too Much Bling, sold for $95,000 to top the sale. (Photo by Mary Cage)
Monday’s Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, the first conducted by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park without Fasig-Tipton as a partner, posted similar results to last year’s auction with an increase in average. Buybacks improved significantly from 33.3% last year to 19.7% this year.
Total sales for this auction came in at $981,300 with 53 of 66 head sold for an average of $18,515 and median of $12,000.
Last year’s sale, run by Fasig-Tipton, saw 66 head sell for $1,161,900 from 99 offered. The average for that sale was $17,605 with a median of $13,000.
Two horses at this year’s sale eclipsed the $75,000 top price from last year. The high seller was hip #40, a Texas-bred filly by Too Much Bling who worked the fastest time of :10 1/5 in Saturday’s under tack show. Consigned by Asmussen Horse Center, agent, the filly sold for $95,000 to Danny Keene. She is out of the Action this Day mare Soft Music, whose first two starters are both multiple winners.
The second-highest price was also a filly, as hip #24, a Kentucky-bred by Henny Hughes, went for $80,000 to Hebert Bloodstock, agent, from the consignment of Oak Haven Farm, agent. She is out of the stakes-winning Saratoga Six mare Playcaller, who has produced Grade 1 winner Diplomat Lady and Grade 2 winner Dream Play.
“Especially considering we got a bit of a late start in putting this sale together, we could not be more pleased with the results and the increase in average over last year,” said Mary Ruyle, executive director of the Texas Thoroughbred Association. “With a Texas-bred topping the sale and a very low buyback rate, I think that proves there is still strength in the industry here.”
The TTA also announced that it will hold a yearling auction in late August at Lone Star. Like the 2-year-old sale, the yearling sale will take the place of the auction formerly operated in partnership with Fasig-Tipton.
“The TTA is committed to advancing the Texas racing and breeding industry, and part of that commitment includes giving horsemen a venue to buy and sell horses in this state,” said Ruyle. “In advance of this decision, we found significant interest from Texas breeders with yearlings to consign, and with the central location and quality facility at Lone Star we also expect to attract quality consignments from around the region. We were lucky to have Tim Boyce on board to manage this sale for us, and he will do the same for the yearling sale.”
More information about consignments and the sale date will be posted shortly. The TTA is also creating a website dedicated to its sales.
Chuck Trout, executive director of the Texas Racing Commission, sent out a letter to various horsemens’ associations on Jan. 13 stating that if the Legislative Budget Board does not appropriate funding beyond the end of February, the commission will shut down racing at midnight on Feb. 16. This includes both live racing and simulcast racing at Sam Houston Race Park, which is the only track conducting a live meeting in Texas at the time of the proposed shut down.
The timing will allow for the Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory to complete drug testing by the end of February, holding as few purses in limbo as possible should the shutdown actually happen. Trout continued: “This schedule will also allow agency staff to pay any outstanding invoices to vendors, to consolidate and safeguard the agency’s equipment and materials, and to coordinate with other state agencies for the subsequent disposition by the State of the agency’s resources.”
The Texas Horsemen’s Partnership posted a portion of the letter to its Facebook page, along with a response: “There is no cause for horsemen to panic as a result of this letter. We feel confident that funding for the agency will be forthcoming.” The THP is hopeful that it will be successful in an injuction hearing on Feb. 3, which would provide funding to the commission. If that effort is not successful, the THP stated that the Texas Racing Commissioners would meet in early February to discuss the funding issue.
Typically, West Nile virus (WNV) cases are not diagnosed into December; however, this year suspicious specimens were sent to the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory (TVMDL) into December. It is expected that WNV cases will drop off as the weather across the state cools and the environment for the mosquitoes that are the vector for the disease diminishes.
As of December 18, 2015, TVMDL can confirm horses in the following counties tested positive for WNV in 2015.
1. Houston County
2. Atascosa County
3. Jefferson County (4 cases)
4. Roberts County
5. Sterling County
6. Parker County
7. Randall County
8. Liberty County
9. Scurry County
10. Hutchinson County
11. Taylor County
12. Nolan County
13. Trinity County
14. Robertson County (2 cases)
15. Midland County
16. Orange County
17. Harris County (3 cases)
18. Victoria County
19. Cooke County
20. Chambers County (2 cases)
21. Erath County
22. Freestone County
23. Smith County
24. Nueces County
25. Collin County
26. Wichita County
27. Lavaca County
28. Jackson County
29. Angelina County
“The number of West Nile virus cases we have seen in 2015 points out the risk to our equine population and the importance of vaccination,” said TVMDL Assistant Director Terry Hensley, MS, DVM. “The horses represented in these cases were either unvaccinated or had lapsed in their vaccinations. The majority of the horses exhibited classical neurological signs which indicates the importance of diagnostic testing as an aid in confirming a clinical diagnosis.”
This year’s positive case map dispels the general public’s belief that WNV is only a threat in low-lying or coastal areas, as positive cases were found from the Panhandle to Dallas, to South Texas and the Houston area. The most prolific area with positive cases was the southeastern region of the state.
Symptoms for other neurologic diseases can present similarly; diagnostic testing is the only method to definitively determine infection. In order to have a complete diagnostic picture, TVMDL also recommends veterinarians request additional tests including: Equine Herpesvirus-1, Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) and Western Equine Encephalitis. In 2015, TVMDL confirmed four positive cases of EEE in southeast Texas.
The Texas Department of State Health Services and the Texas Animal Health Commission have information related to WNV and mosquito control available for free download.
For more information on TVMDL’s equine neurologic testing, visit tvmdl.tamu.edu, or contact the agency headquarters at 1.888.646.5623
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