It is a great time to buy Broodmares in foal, at the Keeneland November sale.
There are a number of Breeding Farms including Darley, Juddmonte, Spendthrift, Adena Springs, and Ramsey’s that are offering many of their mares in foal at the Keeneland November sale.
Since most of these farms have breeding rights to the stallions that the mares are in foal to, the farms don’t actually have to pay the breeding fees like other mare owners would.
As a result, the mares in foal being offered for sale, can be purchased at prices which may be lower than what it actually costs to breed to the stallions. Once the foal is born, I suggest breeding the mare back to a stallion who is less expensive to breed to, and sell her in foal. This plan should result in you owning a weanling for under market value, with potential to either sell or race.
The yearling sales market was down in 2020 by 20 – 25%.
I believe the market for broodmare sales, in Keeneland November will also see a drop in prices.
It is easy to foresee the market for yearlings rise again in 2022 with the covid-19 being over and or under control.
The key is to buy mares in foal that have commercial appeal.
There are numerous ideas and strategies that I have when it comes to selecting the right broodmares in foal to purchase this season at Keeneland November.
Here are a couple of obvious ones, I would advise purchasing Broodmares in foal to;
First Year Stallions such as AUDIBLE, CATHOLIC BOY, and MITOLE. The offspring of First Year Stallions are always popular in the sales ring as weanlings of 2021, and / or yearlings of 2022.
Proven Stallions/Sires whose yearlings sell for have a very high Median Price such as MUNNINGS ($77,500.) LIAM’S MAP ($55,000) HARD SPUN ($48,500) VIOLENCE ($40,000) The offspring that are very forward, can be sold as weanlings in 2021, or wait until yearling sales in 2022.
For Breeders who are Ontario residents, the Government provides a program to rebate 50% of the purchase cost of broodmares in foal, with a cap at $15,000 per broodmare in foal, and a total rebate of $50,000 dollars in Canadian funds. The program is called ONTARIO MARE PURCHASE PROGRAM FOR FOALS OF 2021. Some conditions apply but in general, broodmares in foal that are purchased for greater than $15,000 and less than $100,000 are eligible if the mare is foaled in Ontario. More details of the program can be found at www.ontarioracing.com.
I am available to discuss the details and strategies with interested buyers.