A sales season bolstered by record results during its bellwether juvenile auctions looks to produce one more display of market strength before year’s end when Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company holds its 2026 October Yearling Sale this week.
A total of 438 horses, including 60 supplemental entries, have been catalogued for the two-day sale taking place Oct. 6-7. The Oct. 6 session will offer Hips 1 – 189 plus supplements 190 – 224, with the Oct. 7 session selling Hips 251 – 439 along with supplements Hips 440 – 464. Sessions begin at noon ET each day. The full catalogue can be viewed online at obssales.com.
This year’s OBS October Sale aims to continue the momentum generated during a banner juvenile auction season that saw all three OBS 2-year-old exercises conclude with record results. After the March sale produced a record sale gross and equaled the OBS March record with seven horses crossing the million-dollar threshold, the April sale established OBS benchmarks across the board as it finished with a record gross, average, and median, highlighted by the sale of Zedan, a son of Flightline who sold for an all-time OBS mark of $10.5 million. The OBS June sale added to those accolades, setting new marks for gross and average while selling a filly by Justify for all-time sale record price of $1.4 million.
Such stellar results have allowed pinhookers to head into the yearling sales flush with resources by which to restock. With more ownership groups partnering up on horses, a diverse buying base has also emerged to add strength to the market beyond the top level.
“Statistically, the lower end of the market was stronger this year than normal,” said consignor Colin Brennan of Colin Brennan Bloodstock at Highlander Training Center. “It seems like that kind of range, that $20,000-$50,000 range was a little bit stronger than previous sales. There are a lot of syndications going on and that helps as well. I’m just hoping that people didn’t fill orders and that they’ll be here trying to shop. Everyone needs inventory.”
Early activity on the grounds has added to the cautious pre-sale levels of confidence. Those showing Sunday morning found themselves having to hit the ground running as a steady stream of activity could be found throughout the barns.
“The expectations for this sale I think are going to be strong,” said consignor Beth Bayer. “We’ve seen the strength of the other sales, and I think it’s definitely going to carry through to this sale. This morning, the traffic has been great. We’ve been super busy already; we’ve already had 30 shows this morning. So, I’m excited about that.”
The 2025 edition of the OBS October Sale produced gains across the board as its total gross of $7,509,700 from 309 head sold surpassed the $5,724,600 generated by 297 horses sold during the 2024 OBS October Sale, which had its schedule adjusted due to the impact of Hurricane Milton. The overall average improved from $19,275 in 2024 to $24,303 in 2025 with the median coming in at $15,000, up from $10,000 the year prior.
The 2025 season also proved a highlight one for OBS October Sale graduates as Bentornato, who was purchased at the 2022 edition of the sale, captured the Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1) last November at Del Mar en route to becoming an Eclipse Awards finalist for divisional honors. Last season also saw Crimson Advocate, another graduate of the 2022 October Sale, earn a second career victory at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting when she annexed the Group 2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes last June.
Other notable October graduates include Grade 1 winners Trikari and Speed Boat Beach and graded/group winners Mystic Lake, Kathleen O, Desert Dawn, Kinza, and Visually.
The October sale will be streamed live via the OBS website as well as the DRF, TDN, BloodHorse, Pastthewire, and Hipismo.net websites.
OBS will again offer online bidding during the October sale. Buyers may go to the OBS website and register to gain bidding approval, then access the OBS Bidding Screen with their credentials. For complete information on registration and online bidding please go to the OBS website: obs-internet-bidding.
The iPad version of the catalog can be accessed via the equineline Sales Catalog App. The App allows users to download and view the catalog, receive updates and results, record notes and provides innovative search, sort, and rating capability. For more information and downloads go to: equineline.com.
Sales results will be available on the OBS website, updated frequently during each session of the Sale. In addition, the latest news regarding OBS graduates, sales schedules, nominations, credit requests, travel information and other news relevant to OBS consignors and customers is also available. E-mail should be addressed to obs@obssales.com.
Current information about OBS sales, consignors and graduates is now also available via social media sites Facebook and “X”.