“Out with the new, in with the old.”

That’s not the way you normally hear that maxim, but that’s the order of the day in Harrisburg as the yearling portion of the sale is over and now it’s time for the older racing and breeding stock to step into the sale ring.

The yearling section was up 6.2 percent which has a lot of people smiling. With what appeared to be a thin crowd of tire kickers on Sunday afternoon, sale officials were concerned that prices might be soft.

They need not have worried. The sale was strong from the start and maintained a rather consistent level over its new four-day format. Sure, there were some soft spots, but that’s always the case. But even on the third and fourth day, you had to pay real money for a yearling with the proper credentials.

Several people told me prior to the sale that they expected the yearling portion to tread water and be on a level with last year’s sale, so the increase was most welcome in this troubled economic climate.

Andover Hall wound up as the top stallion in sales average as his 45 sons and daughters to parade through the sale ring averaged $68,700.

Among other trotting sires with substantial representation in the sale, Chocolatier and Muscles Yankee tied for second place as they both averaged $46,286. It says something indeed about our craze for first-crop sires when an unproven horse such as Chocolatier can match the average of Muscles Yankee, who has sired the last two Hambletonian winners.

Chocolatier’s rival Glidemaster, Horse of the Year after his brilliant sophomore season, averaged $43,891.

The late Windsong’s Legacy averaged $41,109.

Then you get to Yankee Glide ($38,105), Angus Hall ($37,375), Credit Winner ($37,105), and Striking Sahbra ($32,667).

Among pacers, Rocknroll Hanover led the way at $58,685 followed by Mach Three ($38,900), Bettor’s Delight ($38,233), Western Hanover ($32,289) and Royal Mattjesty ($32,667).