CTBA Pleasanton sale: 96 yearlings with bogus black type

[CA Michael]

Catalogs for the September 25 Northern California yearling sale were released Monday and, not surprisingly, the CTBA sales committee once again opted to award the coveted 'black type" to horses which won or placed in (N) races. (N) races are generally carded by smaller racetracks, and offer total purses as low as $2,000.

Of the 264 yearlings catalogued, we found 96 of them whose pedigrees contain the bogus (N) stakes horses. A total of 65 (N) stakes wiiners and 98 (N) stakes placed getters were counted; Some catalog pages induded multiple (N) stakes horses.

Despite protests by several consignors that this CTBA policy discriminated against breeders whose yearlings contained bona fide black type (stakes races worth at least $45,000 added in 2007), the CTBA chose to ignore their concerns. Instead, it consciously elected to print the misleading information exactly as it had in 2005 and 2006.

As an example of how (N) black type can decidedly alter a buyer's perception of reality, click on this page: http://ctba.com/norcal07/catalog/141.PDF (requires Acrobat Reader)

As you can see, the second dam of this yearling, NICELY NATIVE, appears to have produced one SW, one stakes placed horse, and the dam of another SP horse. In fact, NONE of these horses receives real black type. All stakes wins and places occurred in races worth $6,000 or less. Take away the phoney black type, and you're left with a catalog page with no actual stakes horses appearing until the fourth dam.

In this instance, http://ctba.com/norcal07/catalog/119.PDF , you have a yearling filly by leading California sire Benchmark out of a Bertrando mare. The young first dam has produced one winner. The second dam appears to be the granddam of stakes winner ALCRES GEORGE. Many scurrying yearling buyers would assume this black type is accurate, since the third dam is strong. Unfortunately, it is not. The illusion of quality supercedes the reality of meniality.

And so it goes with 94 other Pleasanton yearling catalog pages.

Nowhere in its catalog does the CTBA disclose to buyers that yearlings with (N) black type will not be awarded that status by Barretts, Keeneland, Fasig Tipton, OBS or most other sales companies. Pinhookers buying at the CTBA sale may be more than shocked when they discover at resale time that their investment was purchased under false pretenses.

To further aggravate matters, the CTBA 'Conditions of Sale' (page 36) shift all legal responsibility for catalog errors or omissions to consignors.

"Horses catalogued in this sale are offered with information as repepresented by Consignor. The accuracy of all information on the catalog page(s) is the sole responsibility of the Consignor and not the Auctioneer. While certain information may have been procured by Auctioneer from third parties on behalf of Consignor, it remains solely the responsibility of Consignor to verify the accuracy of such information and to notify Auctioneer of any corrections......IN CASE OF ANY ERROR OR OMISSION, BUYER SHALL SEEK REDRESS ONLY FROM CONSIGNOR"

Read this condition carefully. It warns consignors that they are legally responsible for catalog errors and omissions--EVEN THOUGH THE CTBA NEVER PROVIDED THEM WITH CATALOG PAGE PROOF SHEETS before printing.

Thus, in the pinhooker example, when (N) races don't appear in a Barretts, Fasig Tipton, OBS or Keeneland catalog on a horse purchased at the Pleasanton sale, THE SELLER MAY BE LIABLE FOR COMPENSATORY DAMAGES.

We know we can sound like a broken record BUT.......can the CTBA do anything the correct way? If the CTBA was a public agency, it might be red-lined out of existence. If it was a public corporation, the shareholders would surely revolt. If it was a small business, it would have gone broke. How can an organization become so thoroughly incompetent?

In the 1990's, the CTBA developed what may be a long forgotten "MIssion Statement," ostensibly to provide direction for the association. Among the adopted CTBA goals:

"To utilize our sales and sales catalogues as tools of education for breeder, buyer, seller, and potential member."

Does the 2007 CTBA Northern California yearling sale catalog achieve this goal?

[Rokeby Forever]

You mean that the Arizona County Fair Distance Series Final isn't a breeder's race? It is a "Final," after all!

[JCBloodstock]

To the small regional programs out there-a stakes race is a stakes race.

And besides that,if a person is so advanced as to be a pinhooker in the first place I'm sure they're advanced enough to know how to read a catalog page and have the knowlege and tools to be able to decipher it.

Under the 2nd dam one that is not mentioned is Night Letter Man (who had a 6.09 SSI) but on this one I'd be a tad more worried about the sire who has what.....................roughly 24% winners from foals.

Give people some credit,they're not all idiots.

[Sam]

And besides that,if a person is so advanced as to be a pinhooker in the first place I'm sure they're advanced enough to know how to read a catalog page and have the knowlege and tools to be able to decipher it.

*noddin'

Never mind that I SERIOUSLY doubt anyone is going to try and pinhook something out of Pleasanton.

[CA Michael]

[quote="JCBloodstock"]To the small regional programs out there-a stakes race is a stakes race."

This is true. But California is not a small regional program; if this was an Idaho or Oregon sale, then the (N) stakes would be more meaningful to buyers. In California, they are not.

re: pinhookers. As you know, most buy off conformation. Their time is spent developing their short lists, not in pedigree research. Catalog pages generally serve only as a quick reference point. Yes, they know how to read a catalog page, but most also trust that the sales co. has been honest enough to utilize the industry cataloguing standard--which does not acknowledge (N) races.

Pinhookers do indeed frequent smaller sales like Pleasanton. As prices at the major yearling sales increase, they are appearing with greater regularity at sales like Pleasanton. A catalog of 250 or so yearlings will always catch the interest of an enterprising 2yo seller.

Nowhere in the CTBA catalog does it advise buyers that black type is used for (N) races. This is deceptive marketing. The only idiots involved are the ones who allowed this to happen. And the worst part is that the sales co. has absolved itself of all legal responsibility, leaving the Pleasanton consignors in full exposure.

Night Letter Man??

http://ctba.com/norcal07/catalog/consignors.html

[JCBloodstock]

My mis-type "Eight Letter Man" under the 2nd dam that doesn't show on the catalog page

I myself,have always used APR's SSI (Standard Starts Index) in the purchase of anything as far as somewhat showing their ability on the track.Basically,her best runner isn't even mentioned.

Eight Letter Man - 86 Bay Colt by Well Decorated
4 wins,2 seconds,2 thirds in 15 starts earning $100,400 - appears to have been about a 7 furlong turf horse.104 SR with a 6.09 SSI.On ssi and sr he was the 2nd dams best runner.

[Sam]

My mis-type "Eight Letter Man" under the 2nd dam that doesn't show on the catalog page

I myself,have always used APR's SSI (Standard Starts Index) in the purchase of anything as far as somewhat showing their ability on the track.Basically,her best runner isn't even mentioned.

Eight Letter Man - 86 Bay Colt by Well Decorated
4 wins,2 seconds,2 thirds in 15 starts earning $100,400 - appears to have been about a 7 furlong turf horse.104 SR with a 6.09 SSI.On ssi and sr he was the 2nd dams best runner.

Have to be careful of the SSI, though, I've seen some on horses that won first time out, only made one other start and finished out of the money and had an SSI that looked better than it really was, especially in relation to the siblings.

[CA Michael]

JCB

As a general rule, yearling buyers place conformation study above pedigree study, and broodmare buyers place pedigree study above conformation analysis. If this CTBA sale was for breeding stock, rather than yearlings, you can bet the catalog would undergo far more scrutiny. But, like most yearling sales, buyers do their final decision making in the final minutes before bidding. And it's the horse, not the catalog page, that they are evaluating.

It's only when they try to resell their purchase at an honest sales company venue that they discover the discrepancy between pages. And because the CTBA shifted responsibility for catalog information to the consignors, there's only one place they can go for redress.

The CTBA is a breeders organization; it should never have put breeders at risk like this. Their alternative choice--to follow International Cataloguing Standards for black type--would have not only been simple and free, but would have spared consignors this added worry.

[JCBloodstock]

Well,first off-I'm not a rookie at this and to clarify I'm not saying your implying that either.Iowa is where I live,doesn't mean I don't know anything.I've purchased well over 400 yearlings for clients in the last 16 years and I learned quite some time ago (when switching from Quarter Show Horses to Thoroughbreds) that yes,conformation has something to do with it but what's more important is what's on that catalog page.I've seen more pidgeon toed,club footed,back at the knees,over in the knees,parrot mouthed thoroughbreds that can run and have.I've also seen the high dollar show horse thoroughbreds that can't outrun the $1500 claimers at the now defunct At-To-Kad.

Now,I also realize a lot of pinhookers rely on conformation.One of the persons that got me to switch to thoroughbreds was Pug Hart because of my Quarter Horse background.But I myself,when looking for pretty - I think Quarter Horse,not thoroughbred.To me it's what's on that catalog page.

And Sam,I do agree on your point that the SSI can often be skewed on just a few starts but if a horse has at least 10 starts it gives you a pretty good indication of it's ability.

As an example,my stallion Dignitas win 2 Grade 2's(The Illinois Derby and The Michigan Mile)-6 wins,10 placings in 25 starts and an SSI of 19.36 and an SR of 104.

His leading runner-Fancy As (sold for $3200 as a yearling in Manitoba-nice,balanced conformation colt but like most Diggys,just kind of a plain Joe)-Has won a Grade 2,3-Grade 3's in Canada-ran 3rd in 2 Grade 2's at Santa Anita(The Strub and The San Fernando Breeders Cup S.)-has 16 wins,5 placings in 27 starts and yet has an SSI of 9.74 and an SR of 102 which is still honest racehorse caliber but definitely is a tad lighter running in Canada compared to "Diggy" running in The Graded U.S. Stakes.

As another example of the 1 North American start SSI is Giant's Causeway (runs 2nd in The Breeder's Cup Classic in his only U.S Start) yet has an SSI of 327.67 yet Tiznow wins 2-Breeder's Cup Classics including the one against Giant,hit's the board in 14 of 15 starts including 12 graded stakes yet has an SSI of 170.74

Every system has to have a loophole somewhere or it can't be a system.

Sincerely-Jeff