Gordon Waterstone

Lexington, KY — “What a night. We’re killing it!” That’s what Steve Stewart of Hunterton Farm/Sales Agency told me late last night at the Lexington Selected Yearling Sale at Fasig-Tipton. At the end of the first of five sessions, Hunterton led the list of consignors with 17 yearlings sold for a gross of $3,592,000.

There were 69 yearlings sold for $100,000 or more, with 11 sold for $400,000 or more. Overall, gross sales for Night One was $18.54 million, with an average of $161,217. Both records!

I headed out to Fasig-Tipton close to 5 p.m. yesterday as I certainly didn’t want to miss two hours of cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. While I feared getting caught in rush-hour traffic, that was nowhere near the case. I think I arrived in record time as the trip took only 15 minutes as I sailed on New Circle Road and Newton Pike with virtually nary a stop for a traffic light.

Elizabeth Caldwell and Gordon Waterstone with Detroit City.

Being from Detroit, I headed up to Barn 15 to see Detroit City, who was selling as Hip 46 from the consignment of the Caldwell’s Cane Run Farm. Elizabeth wasn’t there but I saw Anvil and Lace Farm’s Beth Yontz at the other end, where she was sitting with Anette Lorentzon. We chatted a few minutes and then I saw Elizabeth arrive, so I headed that way. Of course I was intrigued by Detroit City, and had told a few people the past few days that if they buy him, I want in. That was before I actually looked at the pedigree page and saw Detroit City is a full brother to Propulsion and Dream Together and a half-brother to D’Orsay.

Elizabeth was kind enough to let me take a photo with Detroit City, and I asked her to join me. One of Elizabeth’s staffers, who drove in from Indiana, took the photo but absolutely refused to take any credit. And I would need credit if I had any piece of Detroit City as he brought a bid of $500,000 from Swedish agent Robert Lindstrom. I thought it was a fitting coincidence that when I headed back to the sales pavilion that former Detroit Lions star player Terry Miller passed me.

By the way, I was asked by about 15 people last night if I had filled my gas tank after yesterday’s column. I told everybody that yes, I bit the bullet, as after running some errands yesterday afternoon my range reader said I had 28 miles left, and while I’m not very good at math, I knew that driving back and forth from Fasig-Tipton could be a bit dicey. So my errands included a stop for gas. And prices are still mostly $3.15 a gallon, with a few exceptions a few pennies cheaper.

Remember the Seinfeld show episode “The Bizarro Jerry?” The one where there was an alternative universe for the Seinfeld cast? That’s what I felt like last night because for all the years at The Horseman And Fair World I mostly socialized and gathered ammunition for the next Backstretch column while at the sale, leaving the real work to Boss Kathy. Last night it was Boss Kathy who was able to do the socializing as I was tasked with getting quotes to send to the home office of colleague Ken Weingartner, who did the actual writing of the sale story you see on the USTA site.

So to all those people through the six hours I was at Fasig-Tipton who I brushed off quickly, I apologize. I did make a point to head to a picnic table near the back ring to see Larry “Bones” Rathbone, where he was sitting with the Okusko group. If I went on and named everybody I spoke to last night, I’d end up missing today’s sale that begins at 3 p.m.

Speaking of the USTA, the whole gang made it to town yesterday, including COO TC Lane, who I had a chance to talk to for a few minutes before the sale. TC told me that his plans changed and instead of staying overnight in Lexington, he was driving back home to Ohio. Mmmmm, I have a hunch TC got home before I did, but I’ll get into that later.

The rest of the gang included Wendy, Mark, Rich and newbie Kyle, who I met for the first time. I give Kyle props as I think he survived the night. Wendy, who is like a rock star to me for all the running around she does to do her social media job, also survived the night as toward the end she showed me all the videos she had been doing through the session.

I was standing in the back ring waiting for the sale to start when Hip 1, a Huntsville filly named Wet Your Whistle, got a bit feisty. The handler did a great job getting Wet Your Whistle settled down and she kicked off the night with a bid of $85,000 from Steve Arnold.

Although I went into the arena for awhile, I was back in the back ring when it started to get a bit warm and I noticed there was a lot of people around me. I thought I’d get cool for a second so I walked outside, but I didn’t realize it was raining hard. Even though I took only two steps, I got a bit wet. And then it started raining even harder, but after about 10 minutes it stopped.

I was standing by Elizabeth Caldwell when Detroit City sold, so I congratulated her on the sale of the trotter that the Caldwells bred in partnership with Bluestone Farms. I saw Robert Lindstrom signing the sale slip so I walked over to talk to him — joined by DRF’s Derick Giwner — but he asked if we could wait for about another five horses. He then came over to me and asked to walk outside where it wasn’t so noisy.

“He is a fantastic, good-looking horse and he is a stallion prospect for the future,” Mr. Lindstrom told me. “He has the perfect body and I really like him. I think he can develop racing even earlier than Propulsion.”

He told me that Detroit City went a little higher than he expected and that he “stretched it a little bit.” He also told me that he will be putting together the partnership on Detroit City, with the decision of trainer to also come later.

“We have other horses to buy and I’m not sure what group will be with what horse,” he told me.

I thanked him for coming outside so that we could hear. I also have to thank Ken Jacobs, who a few horses after Detroit City purchased the Walner colt Earthquake Bi for $620,000 from the front row in the arena, for also going up the steps to outside the glass so we could talk about his purchase.

Cyberspace, a half-sister to Mission Brief and Tactical Landing, brought $500,000 from Buckstone LLC. Gordon Waterstone photos.

Earthquake Bi was the sale topper for my Backstretch sponsor, Hunterton Sales Agency, with the next being Hip 105, a Walner filly named Cyberspace and a half-sister to Mission Brief and Tactical Landing, who brought $500,000 from Buckstone LLC. Hunterton also sold Hip 87, a Muscle Hill filly named La Dolce Vita, whose family includes this year’s Hambletonian Oaks champ Bella Bellini and Pizza Dolce, for $450,000 to Courant Inc.

I also had a chance to talk to Nancy Takter a few times, including after her sale-topping $800,000 purchase of Hip 62, a Walner filly named Exile who is a half-sister to the Takter-trained Altar, who has won her last three in a row at The Red Mile in 1:50.4, 1:51.4 (the Kentucky Commonwealth final) and 1:50.3 (a Bluegrass division), the latter being the fastest by a sophomore filly trotter this year.

On one of my tours around the pavilion — my health app showed I walked nearly five miles last night — I ran into Kurt Becker, who is on the sale podium and getting ready to announce the upcoming Keeneland meet that gets underway Friday. It’s always nice to chat with Kurt, who along with his dad, Hall of Fame announcer Carl, are two of my favorite people.

Just as my gas gauge read yesterday, my phone battery also began to run low. I didn’t bring my charger so I went into the sale office to see if there was an extra one, and there was. I plugged my phone in but it was only a brief stay as another high-priced yearling sent me out in search of the buyer. There were about six staffers in the office but it was administrator Cindy Doyle who told me that it’d be $20 for the use of the charger. When I came back a few minutes later for another round of charging, Cindy said that it’d be another $20. When I went and got my phone again I tried to bargain with Cindy that I’d get a discount for a third trip so that it was $20 each but three for $50. She turned me down.

It was a busy night for sales managers Randy Manges and David Reid, who I saw a few times and helped point me toward a buyer. Randy was in a back office when I went in to find him so I popped my head in quickly to say hello as I know how busy he was.

I left Fasig-Tipton with only one horse left to sell and headed to Le Deauville for some food as I was hungry. Mark, who owns Le Deauville on Limestone, keeps the restaurant open late hours for the harness horsepeople after the sale. I got there around 11:30 and some people were there, and it wasn’t long until the place was pretty much full. The night was also bartender/server Kameron’s first anniversary at Le Deauville as she started exactly one year ago on the night of the first sale session.

I was sitting at the bar talking to Mike Vandeheede and Nick Salvi, but Nick, who was between us, moved over to a table and soon a young gentleman I didn’t recognize asked if the seat was open. I didn’t recognize him as he was an out-of-towner here on business and not harness related, and I told him he was lucky as usually the restaurant would be closed.

Getting tired I paid my tab with Kam and left. And I’ll fess up, it was 2 a.m., easily the latest I’ve stayed out as the nights have been relatively early ones. And the place was still jumping and I saw food still coming out of the kitchen. But I popped back up at 6:30 this morning, fresh as a daisy (wink, wink).

There is some light rain in Lexington this morning and on-and-off showers and thunderstorms are predicted for today and tomorrow. But then the weather is supposed to clear for the weekend race cards on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I think it’s rained four out of the last five Kentucky Futurity days so keep your fingers crossed.

I’ll be headed back to Fasig-Tipton, with today’s activities getting underway at 2 p.m. for a one-hour cocktail reception in the Kentucky Room before the sale gets underway to celebrate the Breeders Crown benefit auction that will offer breedings to eight sires: Chapter Seven, Tall Dark Stranger, Bar Hopping, Downbytheseaside, Walner, Captaintreacherous, Muscle Hill and Perfect Sting.

Finally, the draw for Sunday’s (Oct. 10) Kentucky Futurity will be conducted tomorrow morning at 11:30 a.m. You can watch on the USTA Facebook page.