Bayne Welker

Bayne Welker and Boyd Browning--Fasig-Tipton's executive vice president and president, respectively--were chin-wagging in the car recently when the conversation turned to how much the industry has changed, and Fasig-Tipton's role in that evolving landscape. "I think that's what separates us from the others," Welker said, of what the two men agreed was Fasig-Tipton's predominating strength: "our ability to quickly adapt, quickly make a change and go with the times." A prime example of that adaptability, said Welker, is Fasig-Tipton's March Digital Selected Sale launched in 2022, which ushered in an...

By any measure, Steve and Denise Smith's Mesingw Farm, which celebrated just its fifth anniversary in December, had a banner year in 2025. From the sales ring, where the operation sold its first seven-figure yearling, to the racetrack where it had a graded-stakes placed juvenile at Saratoga in August and a Breeders' Cup starter in November, Mesingw was hitting on all cylinders. The momentum has carried into the new year with the Mesingw-bred Explora (Blame) a leading choice for the GI Kentucky Oaks following her win in the GIII Honeybee...

When torrential rain and severe weather forced the third and final under-tack session of last year's Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale into a gallop-only, untimed preview, the adjustment was used as an experiment of sorts. How would buyers react to the change and ultimately, how would the horses that galloped at the sale go on to perform on the racetrack? While the sale defied the storm to produce all-time gross, average and median records, three of the top 10 lots and eight of the top 20 were horses...

Sometimes you talk to a breeder and know instantly that each and every horse he or she raises is their pride and joy. There might be no better example than Chris Welker. As the co-breeder of 'TDN Rising Star' Travel Column (Frosted), Welker can share dozens of stories of the youngster's time at Spring Ridge Farm. She can tell you about the many frustrating sessions they went through when Travel Column was a hard-headed yearling, but if you bring up the filly's win in last year's GII Golden Rod S.,...

A son of Triple Crown winner American Pharoah was the first to set off fireworks at Fasig-Tipton Thursday, igniting a spirited round of bidding between a trio of powerhouse connections in Donato Lanni, Coolmore and Marette Farrell, acting on behalf on Speedway Stables. Lanni was the first to throw in the towel, leaving Coolmore and Farrell to duke it out and it was Farrell left to sign the winning $1.25-million ticket on behalf of her longtime clients, Speedway's K.C. Weiner and Peter Fluor. "K.C. Weiner and Peter Fluor are two...