OBS March Two-Year-Old Sale Opens Following Impressive Under-Tack Show Breezes

Cesar Loya has been here before. Three years ago, the OBS March Two-Year-Olds in Training sale marked the first time he offered a consignment under his own banner. On the opening day of this year's under-tack show, his lone representative gave him every reason to believe 2026 could be another one to remember.

Hip 139, a bay colt by Army Mule, breezed an eighth of a mile in :9 3/5 on March 4 to lead all workers at that distance, doing it as early fog gave way to clear, sunny skies over the Ocala complex. It was the kind of work that travels fast through a sale barn, and it set the tone for a four-day under-tack show that produced several eye-catching breezes and left buyers optimistic about the juvenile market heading into the auction.

The sale itself opened Monday with 816 horses cataloged across three days of selling. Sessions begin at 11 a.m. ET each day, with hips 1-272 going through the ring March 10, hips 273-544 on March 11, and hips 545-816 closing things out March 12.

Hip 139 was not the only horse generating conversation after the under-tack window. A filly by Drain the Clock, cataloged as Hip 284, worked a quarter-mile in :20 1/5, a time BloodHorse noted as record-tying at the meet. For context on what those fractions can ultimately mean in the marketplace, Bentornato, a two-time OBS graduate, was purchased for $170,000 out of the Golden Rock Thoroughbreds consignment at the 2023 March sale after breezing a quarter in :20 4/5. He later won the Breeders' Cup Sprint at Del Mar by 2 1/4 lengths for owners Leon King Stable and Michael and Jules Iavarone. Bentornato had originally sold through OBS as a yearling for just $45,000.

Hip 197 drew attention for different reasons. The bay colt by Authentic, consigned by Navas Equine, is a half-brother to stakes winners Maybe I Will and Keep Movin' On and is out of My Due Process, a stakes-winning Henny Hughes mare who is herself an OBS graduate. That kind of pedigree page reads well even before a horse ever hits the track.

The under-tack show covered all 816 hips over four days, running March 4-7 with each session beginning at 8 a.m. The sale and its under-tack performances are being streamed live through both the OBS website and BloodHorse. OBS is also offering online bidding again this year; buyers can register and access the OBS Bidding Screen through the organization's website. Complete results from the under-tack show are available at obssales.com.

With two days of selling still ahead and the Drain the Clock filly and Army Mule colt already lodged in buyers' minds, the market tone entering this week was as clear as that Ocala sky on opening morning.