The total dollar volume of North American Thoroughbred auction purchases in 2009 fell 32.2% to $659,646,413, the lowest annual total since 1996. Gross sales of weanlings declined 11.3% in 2009, although average price per weanling sold rose 4.4%. Meanwhile, gross sales of 2-year-olds, which are predominantly sold during the first half of the year, plummeted 33.9%; the yearling gross fell 32.4%; and gross receipts for broodmares were off 32.0%.
