LEXINGTON, KY – The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale concluded its four-day run with another day of steady trade and a record-tying median Thursday in Lexington. Through four sessions, 1,096 horses sold for $65,920,000. The average of $60,146 was down 8.2% from last year's record-setting figure of $65,491, while the median tied the 2025 record figure of $30,000.“It was a near record-breaking edition of the 2026 Fasig-Tipton October Yearling sale,” said Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning, Jr. “There was a very significant level of commerce transacted over the last four days. It was a solid marketplace from start to finish. There was a slight decrease in the average from last year, which had a dramatic increase from 2024 to 2025. You always want to be on an increasing incline, but realisitically, it was basically right in line with our expectations.”With 252 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 18.7%. It was 18.0% a year ago.“It was basically the same trends that we've seen throughout 2026,” Browning continued. “There was great competition at the upper levels, but to get to the upper level, you've got to jump through the hoops. And if you don't jump through one of the hoops, there is a significant penalty involved.”A total of 63 yearlings sold for $200,000 or over during the October sale, down from the 90 who hit that mark a year ago. A colt by Not This Time brought Thursday's top price of $500,000. Consigned by Taylor Made Farm, the colt was signed for by West Coast Racing.While the yearling sales season has set records at all of its previous major stops this summer and fall, Browning did see some warning signs in the marketplace. He noted the absence of several trainers, particularly from the Midwest, who traditionally shop the October sale at the auction this week.“I think that's a little bit of a worrying trend,” he said. “I think you are seeing some of the declining racing opportunities potentially having an impact on their particiation and attendance at sales, which should set off some alarms. We do need to be cognizant in our industry that despite record-breaking sales, and a lot of a really good things happening, we still face some challenges. As an industry, we need to say it's been really good and there have been some really positive results, but we have some things we need to consider and address to improve the game and make it healthy and strong for many years to come.”Into Mischief Filly to Morplay RacingThe Morplay Racing team, shopping the Fasig-Tipton October sale this week looking for fillies, went to $485,000 to acquire a daughter of Into Mischief (hip 1541) during Thursday's final session of the four-day auction. The filly is out of graded winner Painting (Distorted Humor) and was bred by Hill 'n' Dale Equine Holdings, NETP, Windsor Boys, and Kotpil and was consigned by Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa.Cameron Dulgar | Fasig-Tipton“I loved her physically,” Morplay's Cameron Dulgar said after signing the ticket on the bay. “She looks very fast. She's a pretty filly and we are happy to get her.”In all, Morplay Racing purchased six fillies at the October sale for $1.24 million. In addition to hip 1541, the group also purchased a daughter of Constitution out of Grade I winner Dream Tree (Uncle Mo) (hip 1088) for $375,000.“This year we have been targeting fillies with a little bit of pedigree, and obviously the physical has to be there,” Dulgar said. “We are looking for runners with a little bit of pedigree to protect some of that downside risk. Right now, we are just looking to get a nice runner and potentially create a broodmare.”Summers Adds Authentic Colt to Gold Square's October HaulChad Summers has been active at the October sale all week, purchasing yearlings on behalf of Al Gold's Gold Square LLC and the trainer made his most expensive acquisition of the auction Thursday, going to $400,000 to obtain a colt by Authentic (hip 1498) from the Woods Edge Farm consignment.“I thought he was the best horse in the sale,” Summers said. “The mare has had two foals and they are both graded stakes winners already.”The colt is out of Nora's Joy (Street Sense), whose first foal is GIII Wilshire Stakes winner Tirupati (Mitole) and whose second foal is GIII Surfer Girl Stakes winner Brave Deb (Authentic).Chad Summers and Peter O'Callaghan | Fasig-TiptonPeter and Jenny O'Callaghan purchased the colt for $85,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale.“Peter raises a great horse over there,” Summers said. “We're just happy to get him. Obviously, it was a little bit more than we thought. But for us, it was the best horse.”Summers continued, “For the right horse, the market is strong. I guess, Kenny McPeek was bidding on the horse, and he has a really good eye, too. We tried to get aggressive and try and get him to back down, and he just kind of kept going.”Gold Square purchased four yearlings for $880,000 at the October sale. In addition to hip 1498, Gold's operation acquired a filly by Liam's Map for $180,000; a colt by Vino Rosso for $160,000; and a colt by Cody's Wish for $140,000.“Napoleon Solo was very, very good to us,” Summers said of the buying spree. “He won the Preakness and now we get to see if we can win the Derby in two years.”October a Boon Again for Woods Edge“This sale continues to be an absolute savior year on year, and it keeps us all in business when we have little ones that don't quite work the first time around,” Peter O'Callaghan said of the October sale after his Woods Edge Farm consigned Monday's session topper. The auction provided the farm with two more pinhooking scores Friday when a colt by Authentic (hip 1498) sold for $400,000 to Gold Square LLC just a few hours after a son of Tiz the Law (hip 1270) sold for $370,000 to Bakster Farms.Hip 1498 | Fasig-TiptonThe O'Callaghans had purchased hip 1498 for $85,000 at last year's Keeneland November sale and the May foal was always aimed for the October sale.“He was a lovely foal out of a very good mare,” O'Callaghan said. “We specifically kept him for this sale. He was popular here, well vetted, and had several bidders.”The colt is out of Nora's Joy (Street Sense) and is a half-brother to graded winner Tirupati (Mitole) and a full-brother to graded winner Brave Deb.“It's nice that that can happen,” O'Callaghan said of the result. “We all get so sire snobbish that we want to buy the current hot sire, but there is still a place for a good-looking horse who looks like a racehorse and you can still be rewarded in the market. Otherwise, we just have to keep buying every new flash in the pan year on year and it shouldn't have to be that way.”The Tiz the Law colt was purchased for $90,000 at Keeneland last November and had originally been targeted at the September sale.“He had a little last minute temperature right before the sale and we had to scratch,” O'Callaghan explained. “But I had no trouble putting him back here. There's always money here. These horses had a ton of action. The Tiz the Law was vetted 17 times.”The post ‘Near Record-Breaking’: Fasig-Tipton October Sale Concludes Solid Run appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.