Yearlings sired by Walner, a New Jersey stallion, topped the sales at the 86th Annual Standardbred Sale in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Walner's offspring commanded an average price of $258,063 for 16 yearlings. A standout moment was when Cambridge Hanover, a yearling by Walner, sold for $1 million on the opening day. This sale set a record for the highest price paid at this event and matched the second-highest price ever paid for a yearling.
The total gross sales for Walner's yearlings reached $4.13 million. Other notable New Jersey sires included Muscle Hill and Tactical Landing. Muscle Hill had 13 offspring sell for an average of $87,769 each, totaling $1.14 million. Tactical Landing's 21 offspring averaged $33,618 each, bringing in nearly $706,000 in total sales. All three sires are based at Southwind Farms in Pennington, Mercer County.
These results follow strong performances at last month's Lexington Yearling Sale where Walner's offspring also led with an average sale price of $175,216. Muscle Hill and Tactical Landing followed with averages of $124,257 and $87,784 respectively.
"New Jersey-bred yearlings continuing to generate premium prices signifies the effectiveness of Governor Murphy’s and the Legislature’s investment in our horse racing industry," said NJDA Secretary Ed Wengryn. "The benefits for breeding horses here in New Jersey touch a wide range of supporting industries from hay and grain production to the sale of tack and veterinarian care that are all beneficial to the state’s economy."
In total, 124 yearlings sold in Harrisburg will be eligible to race in New Jersey with combined sales reaching $7.22 million and an average price of $58,250 per horse. Overall standardbred sales saw 866 horses sold for just over $37 million with an average price of $42,830.
Concord Stud Farm from Cream Ridge in Monmouth County achieved the highest consignor average at Harrisburg with their 75 horses averaging $74,880 each. The farm is operated by David and Robin Meirs along with their family on a property spanning 249 acres.
Walner is noted as a former world champion who won nine out of ten lifetime starts including prestigious races like the Breeders Crown (2016) and Stanley Dancer Memorial (2017). He has sired six trotters that have earned over one million dollars each.
Muscle Hill boasts past accolades as a world champion winning 20 out of his 21 lifetime starts including titles such as Horse of the Year (2009) and Hambletonian champion while siring three Hambletonian winners among others.
Tactical Landing was crowned Breeders Crown Champion at age three; he is also recognized as being full brother to Mission Brief—a world champion—and has already produced two Hambletonian winners from his first two crops: Tactical Approach and Karl.
