A Louisiana-bred two-year-old bay colt by hot young sire Tiz the Law from Ontario-bred Souper Speedy mare GEORGIAN DANCER, a two-time winner and stakes-placed at Woodbine, topped the four-day Ocala Breeders’ sales April auction at $1.5 million.
The colt was purchased by Terry Finley of West Point Thoroughbreds in partnership with Spendthrift Farm and St. Elias Stable.
The Tiz the Law colt was a $160,000 ‘short’ yearling last January and a $125,000 yearling purchase from last year’s Keeneland September Sale by consignor Steve Venosa.
Bred by Lloyd and Laura’s Schwing Thoroughbreds, the bay colt worked in 10 1/5 for one furlong for the sale.
The sale topper’s dam, Georgian Dancer, was a $30,000 CTHS Ontario sale yearling in 2017 and bred by Sherry McLean’s Northern Dawn Stable in Hillsburgh, ON. Georgian Dancer raced for Goldmart Farm and won her career debut. She slid down the class ladder to $5,000 claiming by 2021 and took her second win for that price. For her final race of her career she was fourth for $14,000 and was claimed by Dale Desruisseaux. Desruisseaux, an owner and trainer at Woodbine, then sold her privately. Paramount Sales’ Pat Costrello sold the mare in foal to Tiz the Law for $150,000 to the Shwings.
Georgian Dancer, a daughter of the good Ontario broodmare RIVERMAID DANCING, is a half-sister to 2016 Champion Female Sprinter River Maid plus Deputy Minister Stakes winner Race for Gold and stakes-placed Selembao and Soul Rebel.
Schwing reported that Georgian Dancer’s 2024 Maximum Mischief colt passed away, but that she just foaled a Gunite filly in New York. Georgian Dancer will now stay in Kentucky and she is booked to Liam’s Map.
Consignor Venosa said the Tiz the Law colt made an “amazing” transformation since he purchased him as a yearling. After opening with a bid of $100,000, the colt morphed into a sales-topper with Finley prevailing as he bid alongside Spendthrift general manager Ned Toffey and Monique Delk, executive director of racehorse development for St. Elias.
“Tiz the Law is a stallion where we’ve now bought three of them at the two-year-old sales, and he’s come forward like a whirlwind,” Finley said. “I think he’s going to make an impact on the breed for a lot of years to come. We’ve been doing business with Steven for about thirty years and bought our first really good horse, Awesome Gem, out of Steve’s barn when he worked for J.J. Crupi in 2004. So, I have a lot of respect for the work that he does and this horse, he really was a horse all three of us wanted.”
Added Venosa, “It seems like (the colt) gets better and better. As he was showing here, several people would come and look at him every day and every day he just really blossomed. The (Tiz the Laws), they’re running on dirt, they’re running on turf. They’re showing up at two-year-old sales. And most importantly, they are sound. To bring a horse like that of that size and work the way he did was very impressive.”
The sale-topping colt fittingly closed out an OBS April exercise that demonstrated market strength. The total gross of $88,761,500 from 637 sold was an increase over the $82,373,500 generated by the same number sold in 2024. The average of $139,343 bested last year’s mark of $129,315 and topped the previous April record of $129,577 in 2022. Overall median declined from $70,000 in 2024 to $65,000.
A total of 128 horses failed to meet their reserve for an RNA rate of 16.7%, compared to 18.7% in 2024.
Before Thursday’s third session got underway, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made an appearance on the grounds alongside owner Mike Repole and spoke to the audience about the importance of the industry.
“I understand the importance of the industry to the state, not just in terms of economy, which is important,” DeSantis said. “But it’s a culture and a way of life and something people have known for many generations.”
DeSantis, seated alongside Repole in the pavilion, helped bid on a horse early in the session as Hip 613, a bay filly by Practical Joke consigned by Mayberry Farm, hammered for $140,000 to West Bloodstock, Agent for Repole Stable, Inc.
Prior to speaking to the crowd, DeSantis met with several key member of the industry including O’Farrell, president of the Thoroughbred Racing Initiative, which was created to fight for live horse racing in Florida and elsewhere in the United States.
“It’s been a really good day for our industry, it’s great for OBS and just showing strength that we’re here, we’re a viable business,” O’Farrell said. “It was great to show him the commerce taking place in Ocala. Showing him what our industry is all about. To know that we have the Governor on our side as a huge ally and supports our business is a huge win for the industry.”
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