Fasig-Tipton tests safer, condensed under-tack show for 2-year-olds

Fasig-Tipton’s Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale opened under a very different market test on May 12, as Hips 1 through 300 went through their previews in a condensed two-day under-tack show with no official published times and restricted crop use. For buyers trying to separate the top end from the bargains, the change meant less emphasis on headline clocking numbers and more on stride, balance, finish and how a young horse carried itself under pressure.

That is the central question hanging over Timonium, Maryland: whether a safer, lower-pressure format can still deliver the commercial clarity the 2-year-old market demands. Fasig-Tipton said the revised setup was designed to provide the safest, most consistent and fairest racetrack for all participants, a clear signal that horse welfare was not being treated as a side issue. Riders were still allowed to carry a crop for safety, but they were not permitted to strike horses during workouts, a detail that should force horsemen and buyers alike to reassess what matters most in the breeze show.

Boyd Browning, Fasig-Tipton’s president and CEO, has framed the goal as showing each horse’s ability in a way that supports safety and leaves buyers with a sounder prospect that can move forward after the sale. The format also reflects a practical lesson from 2025, when severe weather forced the final day of that under-tack show to be run as untimed gallops and breezes. What began as an emergency adjustment has now become an intentional case study in how the auction market reacts when the clock is removed.

On the rail, the first-day buzz suggested that buyers and sellers were willing to adapt. Clovis Crane of Crane Thoroughbred Services said he had five horses on the track and described the change as something the business has to absorb if it wants to stay viable long term. One of the most eye-catching workers was Hip 13, a Volatile colt, the kind of horse that can still create momentum in a market even without an official time beside his name.

The sale was originally set for three under-tack sessions, May 12-14, but was condensed to May 12-13 because of a forecast of wet weather later in the week. The sale itself is scheduled for May 18-19 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds, with each session set for 11 a.m., and the catalog lists 593 horses. For buyers hunting value, the new setup may reward those who can read a horse beyond the stopwatch, while the consignors who present a polished, athletic individual may gain the clearest advantage.