The 2012 Standardbred Horse Sales Company Annual Sale will offer 2,290 harness racing horses for public auction at the PA Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg from Monday, November 5 through Saturday, November 10, 2012.

The Select Yearling Sale will be held Monday through Thursday, followed by the Mixed Sale on Friday and Saturday. Pedigrees and yearling videos are available online at www.theblackbook.com. The roster may be searched by trotters and pacers, colts and fillies, as well as by consignors, sires, and state of eligibility.

At the 2011 Annual Sale, 1,096 Select yearlings were sold for $34,167,000, for an average of $31,174; 952 mixed horses were sold for $20,928,200, an average of $21,983. Pennsylvania sires led the way with 454 Select yearlings selling for $15,085,700, an average of $33,228. Overall, 2048 horses sold for $55,095,200, an average of $26,901.

A world champion and 2012 leading sire of two-year-old pacers from his first crop to race, Pennsylvania-based Hanover Shoe Farms sire Somebeachsomewhere is represented by 57 blue blooded yearlings. Rocknroll Hanover, 2012 leading sire of three-year-old pacers, offers 67 yearlings. Other prominent pacing sires include Bettors Delight (66 yearlings), first crop PA sire Well Said (56), Art Major (46 yearlings), first crop sire Shadow Play (37), PA sire Dragon Again (32), American Ideal (31), and Western Ideal (30).

Pennsylvania sire Cantab Hall, the leading money winning sire of two-year-old, three-year-old, and all age trotters, has 34 yearlings at Harrisburg. Thirty yearlings by world champion first crop sire Muscle Hill are eagerly anticipated by international buyers; his yearlings averaged $102,429 at the recent Lexington Selected Yearling Sale. Other outstanding trotting sires include first crop PA sire Explosive Matter (59 yearlings), PA sire Donato Hanover (56), Muscles Yankee (44), Kadabra (30), Deweycheatumnhowe (29), PA sire Andover Hall (27), PA sire Glidemaster (27), PA sire Yankee Glide (26), Crazed (23), and Credit Winner (17).

"In addition to relying upon the tried and true, people are always looking for the next great stallion and the first foals from a new generation of broodmares," said Standardbred Horse Sale Company President Dr. Paul Spears. "This year's sale contains enough of both to more than satisfy the demands of the astute horseman."

International horse owners, trainers, and enthusiasts attend this sale on a yearly basis. Buyers from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Great Britain, Ireland, France, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, and Italy can always be found in the sale arena. In recent years, new customers from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Tatarstan and Altai have purchased horses at Harrisburg. One-hundred and fifty or more horses will be sold to international buyers, who will ship most of their purchases home at an average cost of over $10,000.

Media, legislators, officials, and the public are invited to join SBAP members for an organized "Informational Tour." A representative of the sale will provide a walking tour of the facility and provide background information on the industry on Wednesday, November 7 at 11 a.m. Please call 717-571-2567 to RSVP for the tour.

“The Black Book” catalogs, a live webcast of the sale, video interviews and photos of prominent horsemen, sale results, and general background information are available on the Standardbred Horse Sales Company website.

(With files from Standardbred Horse Sales Company)