LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearlings Sale recorded both its highest-ever average and median Tuesday in Lexington and was followed immediately by the company's July Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale, which set records of its own when multiple graded-placed Our Moneyman (Mr. Money) sold for $2 million to KAS Stables.
In all, 146 yearlings grossed $16,981,000 during the first yearling sale of the season. The average was a sale record $116,308 and up 7.8% from the 2025 figure of $107,872, while the median was $92,500–up 2.8% from last year's figure of $90,000.
“It was a great start to the yearling sales season,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning. “There was tremendous activity on the grounds. We felt very, very positive based on the level of activity that we saw on the grounds Saturday, Sunday, Monday and today, both in terms of people looking and feedback from consignors, and the repository activity. We knew all those indications were very positive.
“The sale today reflected the positive momentum that we've seen through the sales in recent years. We are delighted with the overall results.”
A colt by Vekoma attracted the highest price for a yearling Tuesday, when bringing a final bid of $600,000 from Legion Bloodstock. The chestnut, consigned by Shawhan Place, was one of 24 to sell for $200,000 or more during the one-session auction, up from 19 a year ago.
A colt by VEKOMA o/o multiple stakes winner American Sugar sells for $250,000 at The July Sale! Congrats to the connections:
B: Scanlon Training & Sales
C: @wynnstayfarm13, agt
Br: H. Allen Poindexter#FasigJuly @spendthriftfarm pic.twitter.com/rBhVvfSouu
— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 14, 2026
With 44 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 23.2%. It was 28.1% a year ago.
Our Moneyman was the final horse through the ring Tuesday when selling to Pedro Lanz and his record-setting $2-million price tag–which bettered the $1.7-million record set just last year–helped lead the horses of racing age auction to a record average price of $167,641. The previous record of $157,588 was set last year.
During the Horses of Racing Age sale, 39 head sold for $6,538,000. The median was $90,000. It was $95,000 a year ago.
Our Moneyman was added to the sale Sunday, just a day after his runner-up effort in the GIII Indiana Derby.
“The horses of racing age is always an interesting and dynamic exercise,” Browning said. “We were very pleased over the weekend when we contacted the owner of Our Moneyman and said we think there is a unique opportunity to market this horse. He was a very, very legitimate horse in terms of his performance on the track and in terms of the statistics that people really look at to evaluate a racehorse. He is the kind of horse who can have you dreaming of major results in his 3-year-old career and on down the road through the rest of his racing career. He was an exciting addition to the sale.”
$2-Million Our Moneyman to KAS Stables
Our Moneyman, coming off a pair of runner-up efforts in graded company, attracted the highest price ever at the Fasig-Tipton July Horses of Racing Age Sale when bringing a final bid of $2 million from Pedro Lanz, bidding on behalf of KAS Stables. The 3-year-old, bred and campaigned by Chester Thomas's Allied Racing Stable and trained by Bret Calhoun, was second behind 'TDN Rising Star, presented by Hagyard' Further Ado (Gun Runner) in the June 7 GIII Matt Winn Stakes and again behind 'Rising Star' Leading Change just three days ago in the GIII Indiana Derby.
OUR MONEYMAN sells for a record $2,000,000 to top the July Selected Horses of Racing Age sale! Congrats to the connections:
Buyer: Pedro Lanz, agent for KAS Stables @2yovar
Consignor: @HunterValleyKY, agent for Allied Racing pic.twitter.com/JKXGMiAMn7
— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 14, 2026
“I had been watching his replays and I was wishing that he was in the sale,” Lanz said. “I know the profile of the kind of horses who can be for sale. It's very hard to find horses with stallion's pedigrees. I'm not going to buy Golden Tempo, Sovereignty or Further Ado. I know it's almost impossible. So when I saw this horse–and when I saw that race–I thought he would be a perfect horse for Saudi Arabia. And the next day, Anna [Seitz] told me she had a horse who might be interesting to me. And it was him.”
Lanz continued, “I reviewed the horse's campaign more deeply and I realized he was a very good horse. This is a horse, if you were putting a wager for the Travers or the Pennsylvania Derby, he would be there in the superfecta because he's always trying. His Beyers are in the 90s and his Rags in the sevens. And he's a horse that, when he went two turns, he got better. This horse can be very nice for KAS Stable.”
Lanz said he was planning to reach out to Calhoun to keep Our Moneyman in the trainer's barn.
“I don't know if the Travers is too soon, but maybe the Pennsylvania Derby,” Lanz said of possible targets for the sophomore. “There are plenty of races for 3-year-olds. We still have five races for them without going against the older horses. And in a crop that you can see every race has a different winner, this horse can be right there.”
Of Our Moneyman's record-setting price, Lanz said, “It's always hard to find horses like this because nobody wants to sell them. So when someone brings a horse like this, I know we will have to pay.”
'The Cycle Continues': Thomas Out One 3-Year-Old and a Dinner
After watching his homebred Our Moneyman bring a final bid of $2 million from bloodstock agent Pedro Lanz Tuesday, owner Chester Thomas admitted he had lost a bet.
“We had made bets in the back ring,” Thomas said. “I predicted the colt would bring $1.85 million, while my wife Jennifer said he would bring $2 million. So I have to buy dinner tonight.”
The Thomases purchased Our Moneyman's dam, Lipstick Junky (Flatter), for $20,000 at the 2012 Keeneland September sale. They purchased his sire, subsequent five-time graded stakes winner Mr. Money, for $130,000 at the 2017 Keeneland September sale.
Thomas admitted it was hard to send Our Moneyman through the ring Tuesday.
Chester Thomas | Fasig-Tipton
“This was a very difficult decision,” he said. “The horse racing business is such a delicate game and we breed and race a lot of horses. What makes it particularly hard for me is that I love racing and I'm competitive. However, I also recognize that, if we were going to sell this horse and get the most for him, today was the day.”
Thomas said he had received offers for the colt following his runner-up effort in the Matt Winn, but it wasn't until Sunday–the day after the Indiana Derby–that he agreed to send him through the ring with the Hunter Valley Farm consignment.
“I made the final decision Sunday morning,” Thomas said. “I'd received a phone call from [Fasig-Tipton's] Max [Hodge] after the Matt Winn and he put the seed in my ear, though I had no real intention to sell initially. We'd already gotten numerous calls after the Matt Winn offering serious money–nothing like what we achieved today, but substantial amounts nonetheless.”
Thomas was full of praise for everyone involved with the horse.
“The folks at Fasig-Tipton did an amazing job,” Thomas said. “And I must acknowledge all the people at Clear Creek, particularly Michelle [LaVoice] and Val [Murrell], who I can't thank enough. Chip Bork got the horse legged up properly. Josh Stevens has always been one of my advisors and a close friend. And we can't leave out Bret Calhoun and the great job he and his team have done.
“Looking back to 2017, Josh Stevens bought By My Standards and Mr. Money, both of whom took us to great places. The cycle continues.”
'A Physical Standout': Legion Bloodstock Goes to $600k for Vekoma Colt
The Legion Bloodstock team, bidding from an upstairs balcony in the pavilion, went to $600,000 to acquire a colt by Vekoma (hip 135) from the Shawhan Place consignment to top the Fasig-Tipton July Selected Yearlings Sale Tuesday in Lexington.
“I think he could have stood out in the Saratoga sale, not just July,” said Legion's Kristian Villante. “He was a big, forward-looking colt with a really good presence about him. He handled himself really well all week. We love the sire, but this colt was a physical standout for us.”
“We came here hoping to have a chance to buy him. We had to stretch a little more than we were comfortable with, but you have to do that for those kind of horses.”@LegionBldstk's Kristian Villante on his purchase of The July Sale topper, a $600,000 colt by Vekoma. pic.twitter.com/d2LnpRq8uL
— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 14, 2026
The chestnut colt is out of Passionate Dream (Uncle Mo), a full-sister to graded winner Paradise Lake.
Villante, surrounded by a group of various partners, said ownership of the colt was still to be determined.
“We have a couple of different people, so we are going to let them sort out what piece they want of it,” he said.
Of immediate plans for the colt, Villante said, “He will go to Travis [Durr] and then to [trainer] Whit [Beckman] eventually when he's ready to run.”
The sale topper was one of three yearlings purchased by Legion Bloodstock Tuesday. The operation also acquired a colt by Gunite (hip 130) for $180,000 and a colt by Bolt d'Oro (hip 168) for $85,000.
Vekoma Colt a Career High for Shawhan Place
The $600,000 sale-topping colt by Vekoma marked the highest sale to date for Shawhan Place, founded by Matt Koch and Teddy Kuster in 2006.
“I kind of blacked out,” Koch said with a laugh when asked what it was like to watch the colt sell Tuesday. “They were propping me up. It was unbelievable.”
Shawhan Place purchased the colt's dam, Passionate Dream (Uncle Mo), for $17,000 at the 2023 Keeneland November sale.
“You never expect to sell a horse for that much money. He was special.”
Hear from Matt Koch of @ShawhanPlace, which consigned The July Sale topper, a $600,000 colt by Vekoma. pic.twitter.com/Rq9tXuAYXS
— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 14, 2026
Koch was quick to credit the entire Shawhan Place team for Tuesday's success, particularly the farm's director of sales Courtney Schneider and farm director Gus Koch.
“He's a homebred, it's a mare we purchased a few years ago,” Matt Koch said. “Courtney did the mating, Gus did the prepping. All the credit goes to them. I've learned I don't have to be the smartest person at the farm, I just have to have very smart people that are out there working on all of this. They do amazing things. And this whole team, everybody here, has been with me forever. I can't tell you how special this is for the whole Shawhan Place. It's the most expensive horse we've ever sold and it's for the home team.”
After signing the ticket on the colt, Legion Bloodstock's Kristian Villante said the yearling could have been a stand-out at the boutique Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale next month.
“We are Kentucky through and through,” Koch said with a big smile before crediting the Fasig-Tipton inspection team with the colt's placement in the July sale.
Koch's brother Gus added, “Every year, I ask [the Fasig inspection team] at the end of the morning, which one do you want? And historically, that's the one we do the best with. It's an easy decision when they say, 'We want that one for July.' At the end of the day, they are almost always right.”
It was the second July sale in a row that Shawhan Place has enjoyed success with a yearling by Vekoma. Last year, the operation sold the auction's top-priced filly, a daughter of Vekoma purchased for $345,000 by Ken McPeek.
The 6-year-old Passionate Dream, who has a 2-year-old colt by Idol, is back in foal to Vekoma's graded stakes-winning son Jonathan's Way.
“We have been huge supporters of Vekoma, we bred to him every year–at least when he was in our price range,” Schneider said. “Vekoma's been very good to us. He was a little out of our range at his price point now, but we thought we love this colt, why not send the mare to Jonathan's Way. He's the only son of Vekoma standing in Kentucky. Maybe we can get lucky again.”
Girvin Filly Heads McCrocklin's July List
After a productive 2-year-old sales season, Ocala pinhooker Tom McCrocklin was busy restocking during the Fasig-Tipton July sale Tuesday. Leading McCrocklin's purchases was a daughter of Girvin (hip 166) acquired for $450,000 from the Airdrie Stud consignment. The bay filly is out of the unraced Sentimental Song (Uncle Mo) and was bred by Michael Sucher's Champion Equine, which purchased her for $60,000 at the 2022 Fasig-Tipton February sale and resold her, in foal to Mage, for $115,000 at this year's Fasig-Tipton Digital March sale.
“For my money, she was the best horse in the sale,” McCrocklin said. “I”m a filly guy. I think fillies are very honest. I had estimated her at $300,000 to $500,000 and I understand that's a big range, but she was my favorite horse in the sale.”
A filly by GIRVIN out of Sentimental Song sells for $450,000 at The July Sale! Congrats to the connections:
B: @tom_mccrocklin, agt
C: @AirdrieStud Raised & Offered
Br: Champion Equine LLC#FasigJuly pic.twitter.com/Hs3IGKU03W
— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 14, 2026
McCrocklin's purchases Tuesday also included three yearlings by first-crop sires. He purchased a colt by Two Phil's (Hard Spun) (hip 2) for $160,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment.
“Two Phil's was a very good racehorse,” McCrocklin said. “I think he may have run the best race of any horse in the Derby that year. I really liked the colt I bought early.”
McCrocklin acquired a colt by Grade I-placed Loggins (Ghostzapper) (hip 38) for $70,000 from the Ascend Thoroughbreds consignment.
“I like the physicals of the Logginses,” McCrocklin said. “Typically, I don't go that Ghostzapper route. They tend to want to be a little late. But they are very nice physicals. And he was a fast horse. So we are going to give it a swing for not a bunch of money.”
Rounding out McCrocklin's purchases by first-crop sires was a colt by GI Kentucky Derby winner Mage (Good Magic) (hip 55) purchased for $270,000 from Airdrie Stud.
“I have actually been most impressed by the Mages,” McCrocklin said. “Again, I tend to stay away from that Curlin line because they can make you wait a little bit and they don't afford me much time to do what I do. But Mage, to me, was different. He had a really big turn of foot. He won first time out at Gulfstream on Pegasus day. He was not a plodder, not the type that grinds along to win the Kentucky Derby. And I have been very impressed with the physicals. They look like athletic horses.”
McCrocklin purchased eight yearlings Tuesday in Lexington for $1,460,000 and, while three of them were by first-crop sires, the horseman said that didn't make them bargains.
“Where the bargain is anymore is with the bubble horses,” he said. “It's a punishing market. They are on and off them very quickly. That's where it gets a little tricky for me. There are some freshman sires from last year that I like that I will invest in this year as bubble sires. But it's a little bit of Russian roulette.”
Giving him a little extra boost of confidence in his July purchases, McCrocklin said, “I am getting some peer affirmation on what I've bought, so my peers like what I've bought so far.”
Taiba Colt Tops Early Returns at Fasig July
A colt from the first crop of multiple Grade I winner Taiba (Gun Runner) (hip 36) led early returns at the Fasig-Tipton July sale when bringing a final bid of $300,000 from Taproot Bloodstock's Phil Hager. Hager said he purchased the yearling, who was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency on behalf of Don Alberto Corporation, for an undisclosed end-user client.
“It's always a good sale, it's good to be prepared here. I think if you like them you've got to buy them when you find them.”
Phil Hager of Taproot Bloodstock discusses his July Sale purchases, including a $300,000 colt from the first crop of Taiba. @Pbhager pic.twitter.com/UjOI0GQw9A
— Fasig-Tipton (@FasigTiptonCo) July 14, 2026
“He's a big two-turn dirt looking horse,” Hager said of the bay colt. “Which is what this owner really likes. I like the pedigree, too. He's inbred to Gun Runner's family. He has A.P. Indy a couple of times. He's just a neat horse. He was really easy, every time I saw him he was good mentally. There will be some of them in September, but if they are here, you might as well jump on them before it gets too hot.”
The colt is out of Dayfa (Tiznow), a daughter of Dance Quietly (A.P. Indy). His third dam is Quiet Dance (Quiet American), who produced Saint Liam, as well as Quiet Giant, the dam of Gun Runner.
Taiba, who stands at Spendthrift Farm for $25,000, was a $1.7-million Fasig-Tipton Gulfstream 2-year-old graduate. He won the 2022 GI Pennsylvania Derby, GI Santa Anita Derby, and GI Malibu Stakes and was third in that year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic.
“I love the sire,” Hager said. “We've had a lot of luck with Gun Runner. [Taiba] was a nice yearling and obviously a good 2-year-old.”
The yearling's $300,000 price tag was the fourth highest at the auction and the highest by a first-crop sire. In addition to hip 36, Taiba also was represented by a $220,000 colt (hip 89) purchased by Hartley/De Renzo Thoroughbreds from the Checkmate Thoroughbreds consignment; a $200,000 colt (hip 102) purchased by JPM Bloodstock from the Stoneriggs Farm consignment; and a $120,000 colt (hip 113) purchased by XQC from the Four Star Sales consignment.
Other first-crop sires with yearlings to sell for $250,000 or over during the July sale were Forte, who had a filly (hip 161) sell for $280,000 to Offshoot Farm from the Warrendale Sales consignment; Arabian Lion, who had a filly (hip 77) sell for $270,000 to Baccari Bloodstock and McPeek from the Gainesway consignment; and Mage, who had a colt sell for $270,000 to Tom McCrocklin from the Airdrie Stud consignment.
Gunite had a colt (hip 105) sell for $250,000 to Scanlon Training and Sales from the Mulholland Springs consignment and a filly (hip 90) sell for that same price to St Elias Stables from the Buckland Sales consignment.
Timing is Everything for Araki, Brown
Nobu Araki of Polo Green Stable and Terry Brown of Versatile Thoroughbreds were shut out at the traditional in-person bloodstock sales in 2024 and early 2025, only to find what they were looking for at the Fasig-Tipton Digital March sale last spring, going to $20,000 to acquire the unraced Fingerprint (Competitive Edge), in foal to Two Phil's. Helped by the exploits of her 2-year-old son Booked (Yaupon), who won the July 4 GIII Sanford Stakes, the mare's yearling filly (hip 52) sold for $180,000 at Tuesday's Fasig-Tipton July sale. The filly, who was consigned by Taylor Made Sales Agency, was purchased by Terry Green's Jackpot Farm, which also co-owns Booked.
Two Phil's | Coady
“In November, [Brown] had a race filly he didn't think was going to get sold,” Araki recalled. “He asked me, if she didn't sell, would I be a partner on her with him. I said of course, but she got sold. So we looked in January and couldn't get anything–we had about $30,000 to spend. And I tried the February sale and couldn't get anything. Normally, that's the last sale of the year, but the digital sale came up in March and I looked through the catalogue. I asked Terry if he was still in the market. We ended up down to two mares, Fingerprint and a mare in foal to Mo Town. We went with the one in foal to a first-year sire, planning for the market.”
Some six months after the two partners purchased Fingerprint, her colt by Yaupon sold to Jackpot Farm for $325,000 at the Keeneland September sale.
“Everybody was talking about the Yaupon,” Araki said. “When he sold for $325,000, I thought we might be all right.”
After the September sale, Araki admitted he mostly forgot about Booked.
“I forgot about him until my partner said he was going to race on the last day at Keeneland,” Araki said. “He got beat by a Wesley Ward horse that day.”
While he was second that day, Booked came back to break his maiden at Saratoga June 7.
Araki said he likely would have scratched the filly from the July sale if Booked had not won the Sanford.
“I started prepping the filly because we got accepted to the [July] sale,” Araki said. “But I wasn't sure because she was an Apr. 27 foal and she was kind of in an awkward stage. If I was looking at her just as a farm manager, I probably would have said, 'Let's just give her some time.'”
While he was contemplating scratching the filly from the July sale, Araki told Taylor Made's Jeff Hayslett about Booked's impending start in the Sanford.
“If that horse even places, you've got to go,” Araki said Hayslett told him. “Those guys know. I know how to breed and foal a mare. But those guys, as consignors, they know the market.”
Araki admitted the filly's price tag Tuesday exceeded expectations.
“I was being realistic. I would have been happy with $60,000 to $75,000,” Araki said. “My partner thought $125,000 to $140,000.”
Araki and Brown still own Fingerprint. The 9-year-old mare was bred to War Front last year, but aborted that foal. She is currently in foal to Golden Pal.
The post $2-Million Our Moneyman Puts Exclamation Point on Record-Setting Day in July at Fasig-Tipton appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.
