Opelousas, Louisiana – A record 211 two-year-olds are being offered in the 5th annual John Franks Memorial Two-Year-Old in Training & Paddock Sale at Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino. In addition, 33 racing and breeding prospects will go through the sales ring in the Paddock Sale immediately following the two-year-old sale. The total of 244 is a 40% increase from last year’s sale, which offered a total of 174 horses.

The 2007 sale will be conducted over two sessions on Sunday, March 18, beginning at Noon central time. The two-year-olds will start things off in Session 1, immediately followed by the older horses in Session 2. There will be a Preview Gallop Show on Saturday, March 17, also beginning at Noon central time. Both sessions of the sale and the preview gallop show are free and open to the public.

Named for the late Louisiana oil baron and Eclipse Award winning Owner/Breeder, the sale offers a pair of $100,000 races restricted to two-year-olds who pass through the sales ring. Last year’s races were won by Miss Atlantic City & Tortuga Straits, both of whom were multiple stakes winners and earned more than $250,000 during their juvenile campaign. Miss Atlantic City was purchased for the bargain basement price of $5,000 by J. Keith Desormeaux while John Balensiefen signed the sales ticket on Tortuga Straits for $21,000.

The effect of racino-infused purses in Louisiana is evident not only by the large increase in horses entered for the sale, but by the quality that is being offered. Charlotte Stemmans Clavier, President of Stemmans, Inc., Administrator for the Sale, states “We have two-year-olds from outstanding and commercial sires such as Forestry and El Prado, who each command a stud fee of $125,000, Malibu Moon $40,000, and dual Breeders Cup Classic winner Tiznow $25,000. Other blueblood stallions from Kentucky, Florida, and Maryland in the sale include Valid Expectations, E Dubai, Stormin Fever, Holy Bull, Yonaguska, Devil His Due, and Cat Thief. Top local sires Wire Me Collect, Leestown, Gold Tribute, Time Bandit, and Littlebitlively are also well represented.

“Racing is on a tremendous upswing in Louisiana in terms of both quality and purse structure,” Clavier added. Evangeline Downs alone allocated purses of more than $200,000 per race program in 2006 and the breeding industry and consignors have responded in kind to the growing needs of the horsemen in terms of both quality and quantity. The entire team at Stemmans Inc. is excited to be a part of what we feel is the best two-year-old sale in the area.”

Horsemen will also have the opportunity to get in on a good thing early as many promising young sires are featured prominently in the sale, including Grade I winner Came Home, the multiple Graded Stakes winning sprinter Posse, A. P. Delta a son of sire of sires A. P. Indy, Two-year-old champion Macho Uno, and Easyfromthegitgo to name a few.

Hips #115, 12, 153, and 1 are just a few of the lots expected to attract plenty of attention. Property of Carroll Castille, hip #115 Forest Tree is a son of Forestry out of the unraced Seattle Slew mare Queen Mama, his 2nd dam is multiple stakes winner Hot Novel, herself the mother of $4.5 million dollar winner Behrens. Hip #12 is an unnamed filly by El Prado out of the unraced Woodman mare Doo Dah Day, her 2nd dam is the Grade I winner Duda, property of Cantrell Family Partnership. Pre K Training Center is offering Hip #153, an unnamed colt by Malibu Moon out of the winning Meadowlake mare Thirty Six Carat, dam of stakes winner Brushedbythebest. The sale and the participants will get a quick start with Hip #1, Nettles Lane, a colt by Valid Expectations from the Timeless Native nine-time winner at three and multiple stakes producing mare Dames Rocket, consigned by Red River Farm, agent.

Session 2 will feature a wide array of equines from yearlings to unraced three-year-olds, to horses currently in training to broodmare and stallion prospects.

The 2006 sale, the second held at the new facility, featured solid gains in both average selling price and total horses sold despite inclement weather. The sales topper was Manhattan Model. Southern Equine Stables consigned the daughter of Smoke Glacken who was purchased by Eric Guillot for $105,000.

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