Pedigree Query

When going through the sales catalog for a large yearling auction like Keeneland, what are the most important things you consider when buying to race?

A few considerations:

Dams race record importance?

Dam's produce record (how many sibs raced/won?).

Sire's stud fee in relation to budget. Means little if you have millions, but if you have $50k would you rather a foal out of a $10k stud, or $40k stud? I know that's overly simplistic, but i guess i mean if they were the same market value at auction.

Stakes winners on page.

Tail female family. 5th dam Reine du course, does that excite you?

Obviously there are lots of things to consider, just want to get an idea of what people think...what are dealbreakers (unraced dam, first foal, 1 winner from 5 foals? etc.), and what do you love seeing.

Thanks for any comments and thoughts.

Female family first, especially favorite racehorses in there
Dam's record (produce more than race) second

I love seeing UNUSUAL crosses since we're drowning in Storm cat and Mr. P.

oh, and dealbreakers would be little of note in family as far as $$ earned, and especially very few progeny starts.

Who the seller is.

1st dam, race record.
Then 1st Dam, progeny.

Rokeby, I have to ask... the SELLER? What if you don't know the seller? For example, I try to always use a huge consignor for that very reason, but have often contemplated just sale prepping myself.

I'm curious as to the reason... it's probably an obvious one that I should realize.

THANKS!

hi Rok...hi Playwithfire

Rokeby Forever wrote:

Playwithfire wrote:When going through the sales catalog for a large yearling auction like Keeneland, what are the most important things you consider when buying to race? ...

Who the seller is.

BINGO...the name(s) at the top of the page is/are EXTREMELY important.

Best.

Respectfully

Family, dam's production, conformation, who the dam has been bred to and is being bred to...

So when considering which consignor is selling, do you think, that group has high AEI and stakes %, etc. i like it, or is it , I know XYZ farm is known for pumping their stock w/ roids and beefing them up to look good so i want to avoid it. I imagine its a little of both, being a newbie, i can probably decipher point A more than point B.

I dont ignore stock from a consignor I dont know... but if I know of bad practices or have some first hand knowledge of a particular consignor, I may pass.

Otherwise, I dont give it much thought... just a passing glance at the top of the page If I like the filly.

What the 1st and second dams have produced.

springboro wrote:Rokeby, I have to ask... the SELLER? What if you don't know the seller? For example, I try to always use a huge consignor for that very reason, but have often contemplated just sale prepping myself.

I'm curious as to the reason... it's probably an obvious one that I should realize.

THANKS!

From a buyer's point of view...let's say that you're in the market for a used car. Would you buy one from just any used car lot?

Do your homework if you don't know the seller - see what the seller's stock has sold for in the past and how it's performed. Ask people in the business what they know about a seller. I would never recommend buying from someone that you know nothing about.

Produce record of the first and second dams, as well as race record, but evaluation of the produce is tempered by the quality of the sires they were bred to. Signs of durability in both sire and dam families, and farther back I like to see reines or at least high quality producing mares and preferably sires. Also when I look at blacktype unless I'm thinking about a very local market I want to see minimum listed stakes, and preferably graded stakes. Another thing to consider though is that in small regional markets purses aren't high so low earnings should not mean an automatic throwaway.

Consistent production in the first three dams. Doesn't need to mean stakes winners all over the place, but I want to see high numbers of WINNERS.

We want (usually, with some exceptions) the 1st or 2nd foal off a page that doesn't show a 4th dam...then the nit picking begins...