FILLIES SET PACE AT TEXAS 2-YEAR-OLD SALE
After four fillies tied for the fastest time during Sunday’s under tack show at Lone Star Park, fillies again took center stage in Wednesday’s Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale with the five highest prices. The auction, sponsored by the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Lone Star Park, was held at the Dallas-area track.

From 110 horses going through the ring, 75 head sold for a total of $1,751,400. The median was $14,500, up 10.69% from last year’s $13,100, and the average dipped 9.27% from $25,737 to $23,352. Buy-backs at this year’s sale came in at 31.82% compared to 20.75% last year when 84 of 106 head sold for a total of $2,161,900.

“Overall we were pretty pleased with the results,” said Tim Boyce, sales director. “I’m happy to see that the median jumped up. Last year we had four horses break $100,000 compared to two this year, so that affected the average a bit but there was strong demand in the middle of the market as evidenced by the median going up. I heard from several horsemen today who said they were impressed by the quality of horses brought by our consignors.”

Hip 21, a daughter of Street Boss who worked an eighth-mile in :10.3 in Sunday’s under tack show, topped the sale with a $150,000 bid from Maui James. Consigned by Asmussen Horse Center, agent, the unnamed Kentucky-bred is the first foal out of the winning Successful Appeal mare I Have a Price.

Maui James was the leading buyer with two purchases for $203,000 with Danny Keene ranking second with four bought for $171,000.

The second-highest price was for hip 131, All in Harmony. The Kentucky-bred filly by Palace Malice went for $140,000 to Carl R. Moore Management LLC from the consignment of Twin Oaks Training Center LLC, agent. She is out of the Tale of the Cat mare Cativating and worked a furlong in :10.3.

The highest-priced male, and sixth-highest overall, was hip 129. The Oklahoma-bred colt named Duffield and sired by Kennedy sold for $62,000 from Bryan Ford, agent, to John James.

Go to ttasales.com for complete results.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
House Bill 1995 and House Bill 3366 are scheduled to be heard on the House floor on Monday, April 15^th.  HB1995 would redirect tax on interstate simulcast wagers in Texas from General Revenue to the Texas Racing Commission’s funding. This would stabilize funding for the agency responsible for enforcing the Texas Racing Act and regulating the pari-mutuel industry. It would also protect against another “shut down” of the Texas Racing Commission, which in the past has jeopardized the operation of the entire horse racing industry and has threatened thousands of jobs.

HB3366 would take the Accredited Texas-Bred (ATB) funds out of the Texas Racing Commission budget and establish an escrow account for that money. This would ensure that the incentive fund is protected and delivered to the audience targeted by the Legislature. It would also provide a more accurate reflection of the Texas Racing Commission’s actual budget.

Both HB1995 and HB3366 would reduce costs to the Texas Racing Commission and the fees it assesses to the Texas racing industry stakeholders it licenses.

House Bill 2463 has not yet been scheduled by the Calendars Committee. HB2463 is a purse matching bill that would take money from General Revenue funds collected by the State Comptroller on the taxable sale of horse feed, supplements and tack to create a $25 million annual incentive fund that would increase purses to bring quality race horses and breeding operations back to Texas. 

NOTES: For foals of 2017 already nominated to the 2019 Texas Thoroughbred Sales futurity, the final sustaining payment of $350 is due by Monday, April 15 (fax, credit card or postmark dated no later than April 15). Payments dated after that cannot be accepted. Contact Jennifer Gibbs at 512.458.6133 with any questions…Thursday, April 18 is opening day of the Thoroughbred meet at Lone Star Park, featuring  the $50,000 Bluebonnet Stakes for ATB Fillies & Mares, Three Year Olds & Up going 6 ½ furlongs…ATB awards for the recently concluded Thoroughbred meet at Sam Houston Race Park should be in the mail by the end of next week…The TTA Sales website now features some new reports from the Texas 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale that lets you view additional stats from the sales results, including the average price by state bred. The charts show that Texas-breds averaged $25,187, second only to Kentucky in the sale. You can view more stats and charts by scrolling to the bottom of the results at http://www.ttasales.com/2-year-old-sa…/2019-2-year-old-sale/.