The success Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. graduate Yaupon enjoyed with his first crop of runners in 2025 was enough to catch the eye of one of the more noted bloodstock agents in the Thoroughbred industry.
It also helped contribute to a bit of history being made inside the sales pavilion where the son of Uncle Mo first made his mark.
When the dust settled on the OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale a year ago, a new milestone for top-end success had been established as a total of seven horses sold for seven figures during the 2025 auction, the most ever for an OBS March sale. When the 2026 edition of the sale concluded its three-day run March 12, another illustrious chapter had been added to the annals as it delivered a record March gross and equaled the OBS March record with seven horses crossing the million-dollar threshold.
After having six horses reach the seven-figure stratosphere during the first two days of the sale, Hip 576, a bay colt by Yaupon consigned by King’s Equine, became the final horse to bust through that lofty barrier when he was purchased by agent Donato Lanni on behalf of the “Three Amigos”, also known as the ownership trio of Michael Pegram, Karl Watson, and Paul Weitman.
2026 OBS March Sale.
That final exclamation point put a stamp on a sale that continues to build upon the breadth and depth of buying power showcased a year ago. The overall gross of $72,050,000 from 443 head sold at the close of business Thursday surpassed the previous March record gross of $71,473,500 from 464 sold established in 2023. In addition to hitting that mark and besting the total gross of $65,660,500 generated by 432 sold in 2025, the cumulative average of $162,641 surpassed the 2025 figure of $151,992 with the median improving from $70,000 last year to $85,000 this season.
“Very gratified and pleased and happy for the consignors,” said Tod Wojciechowski, Director of Sales for OBS. “As I say all the time, they bring the horses and it’s the quality of the horses they bring is what brings those prices. Very pleased with the amount of trade that took place all three days, both domestically and internationally. We had involvement from a lot of different buyers, so we were very happy with that.
“What we saw early on proved out in the sale prices and proved out over the last three days.”
At the close of business Thursday, a total of 123 horses failed to meet their reserve, resulting in an RNA rate of 21.7% compared to 17.6% in 2025.
Wednesday’s session saw Hip 372, a bay filly by Nyquist consigned by Wavertree Stables (Ciaran Dunne), top the auction when she sold for $2 million to representatives of Boyd Racing. That final bid put the filly, who breezed in :9 3/5, in a three-way tie for the honor of being the second-highest priced horse to sell at an OBS March sale – second only to Brant who brought a record $3 million last year – joining Muth (2023) and Chestertown (2019).
“(Buying) has been so tough, we knew we’d have to stretch for her,” said Hannah Jennings of Killora Stud after signing the ticket on behalf of Boyd Racing for the Nyquist filly. “We never thought we’d have to stretch that far but when the horse is the right one, everyone is on them.”
Sale. (OBS/VidHorse photo)
The Nyquist filly highlighted a Wavertree consignment that sold 13 head for a sales-leading gross of $7,730,000.
After witnessing the precocity showcased by Yaupon’s offspring on the track, Lanni stretched a fair amount himself to land Thursday’s session-leading son of the Spendthrift stallion. Yaupon was the leading first-crop sire of 2025 and the speed that was his trademark was flaunted by Hip 576 when the colt breezed in :9 4/5 during the under-tack show.
“He was beautiful, fast, and sound. He came out of the work really well,” said Lanni, who added the colt would head to California. “These horses, they have do it here and they have to do everything right. And he was a horse who did well. We love the sire. Big Yaupon fan.
“They’re precocious they’re quick, they look really forward. (Yaupon) had a good year last year. We were on the sidelines last year, we watched. But we’re getting in now.”
The colt is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Balbina, who is a daughter of multiple graded stakes winner Ready’s Gal and a half sister to graded stakes winner Machen.
“He’s a beautiful horse, he’s got everything people want on a horse,” Raul Reyes of King’s Equine said of the colt. “He really looks good and he’s very fast, that helps too. We felt he would probably bring seven figures and he barely made it, but he made it.”
Lanni also signed the ticket for the second highest priced horse to sell during Thursday’s session, Hip 694, a daughter of Constitution that he purchased for $800,000 on behalf of owner Frank Fletcher. Consigned by de Meric Sales, the filly breezed in :10 flat during the under-tack show and is out of the winning Curlin mare Curls and Bows, who is a half sister to Grade 1 winner Dearest Trickski.
Fletcher led all buyers by gross during the OBS March Sale with two horses purchased for $2,650,000. He also purchased the sale’s second highest priced horse, Hip 416, a bay colt by OBS March graduate and leading sire Into Mischief, who elicited a final bid of $1.85 million and became the first seven-figure horse ever sold by Susan Montanye’s S B M Training and Sales consignment.
“The other thing that I think was noteworthy is… a lot of the younger consignors are becoming a bigger and bigger part of the sales as we lose people like Eddie Woods,” Wojciechowski said. “We see these younger consignors starting to grow more and more within the industry.”
The OBS March Sale also featured the first 2-year-olds by champion Flightline and Hip 698, a daughter of the Lane’s End stallion, produced the third-highest price of the third and final session when she sold for $775,000 to Hideyuki Mori. Consigned by Wavertree Stables (Ciaran Dunne), the filly breezed in :10 flat and is out of Grade 1 winner Dalika (GER), a daughter of Pastorius (GER).
Other notable prices on the day included:
Hip 683, a gray or roan ridgling by Epicenter consigned by King’s Equine who sold for $560,000 to William K Werner. The colt, who breezed in :9 4/5, is out of the Lemon Drop Kid mare Copper Quest, who is a half sister to graded stakes winner Copper Bullet.
Hip 671, a bay colt by Nashville consigned by Twelve Toes LLC who sold for $525,000 to St. Elias Stable. The colt, who breezed in :10 flat, is out of the winning Tapit mare Closet Shopper and hails from the female family of Grade 1 winner Sweet Lulu.
Thursday’s session finished with a gross of $19,396,500 from 130 head sold, down from the $25,161,500 generated by 152 sold during the third session in 2025. The session average of $149,204 was up over the $165,536 posted last year while the session median improved from $61,000 in 2025 to $77,500.
A total of 47 horses failed to meet their reserve during the final session, resulting in an RNA rate of 26.5% compared to 15.5% during the corresponding session a year ago.
The next OBS auction is the Spring Sale of Two-Year-Olds in Training which takes place from April 14-17 with the under-tack shows running from April 6-11. Sale results and information can be found at obssales.com.