By Don Engel
Editor, The Showcase

     In the early 1980's a group of Thoroughbred industry leaders gathered to find an answer to a problem that for years had disturbed and frustrated buyers at public auction. 
     That problem was the failure of sales catalogs to provide buyers with a way to evaluate the quality of the stakes races awarded boldface type--known as "black type." The names of horses that won or placed in stakes races were printed in black type, but there were no requirements regarding the size of the purses of those stakes races.
     Therefore, a major race carrying a large purse was given the same value as a minor race offering a minimal purse. The black type for each was the same: the names of the horses winning or placing in the races printed in boldface type.
     That problem was solved with the adoption of a set of rules governing the awarding of black type to the different races, setting minimum purse levels. At first, that minimum was $15,000, but it has been raised steadily through the years and now is $45,000. In 2008, it will be raised to $50,000.
     (Click here for a chronology of those increases.)
     Sale catalogs with those new requirements were said to be following "blacktype rules." Those that did not and instead imposed no minimum purse requirements for granting black type were said to follow "stakes rules."
     Unlike the catalogs for all other California sales, the catalogs for the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association's Northern California yearling sales follow "stakes" rules. 
     Without doing extensive research on their own, buyers at the CTBA's Northern California sales have no way of determining the quality of many of the races providing black type. 
     The purpose of printing stakes horses' names in black type is to identify quality runners. The CTBA catalog fails to do that, with two exceptions: graded races and races with (L) designations. Those are identified as G1, G2, G3, and L.
     Graded races are those of the highest quality (divided into three levels: Grade 1, Grade 2, and Grade 3); "L" races are those that are ungraded but carry large purses. There are no minimum purse requirements for any of the other stakes races in the catalog, though most of them do qualify under blacktype rules.
     Another problem for some buyers is that other California sales, all held by Barretts Equine Ltd., follow blacktype rules. That means that some horses with black type at the CTBA sale would not have that black type in Barretts catalogs.
     To assist buyers at the 2007 Northern California sale September 25 at Pleasanton, we've researched all the horses in the catalog whose names appear in black type under the horse's first dam--the dam of the sale yearling and her produce.
     The results of that research are shown below, listing horses with non-qualifying races. The purse values and locations of the non-qualifying races are shown, along with the horse's qualifying race or races, if any.
     (Further explanation, along with commentary, can be found in the September 9 entry in The Editor's Notebook.)
     Here are the catalog pages with non-qualifying black type under first dams. The names are of the horses whose names are printed in black type in the catalog with at least one non-qualifying stakes race listed. The dollar value below shows the total purse for the race.
     To go to the catalog page, click on the hip number.

#6--Written in the Sky
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $6,000 Angi Go Handicap at Les Bois Park

#48--Cool Miss Ann
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $8,000 Les Mademoiselle Handicap at Ferndale

#52--Fierce Cat
 3 qualifying races
 Qualifying: $40,000 Loyalty Stakes (R) at Thistledown
 Qualifying: $60,000 Best of Ohio Juvenile Stakes (R) at Thistledown
 Qualifying: $40,000 Cleveland Kindergarten Stakes (R) at Thistledown
 Non-qualifying: Master Dad Starter Handicap

#62--The Kinded
 1 qualifying race
 Qualifying: $25,000 Sun Devil Stakes at Turf Paradise
 Non-qualifying $21,800 Angi Go Stakes at Turf Paradise
 Non-qualifying: $23,800 Quick N Cool Stakes at Turf Paradise
 Non-qualifying: $21,600 Miss L Attack Stakes at Turf Paradise

#91--Gal's Hunter 
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $8,350 Bettie Bullock Memorial Derby at Wyoming Downs
 Non-qualifying: $20,000 Elko Thoroughbred Derby at Elko, Nev.
 Non-qualifying: $5,625 Honorary Mile Stakes at Wyoming Downs
 Non-qualifying: $3,125 Evanston Speed Handicap at Wyoming Downs
 Non-qualifying: $10,691 Elko Futurity at Elko, Nev.

#104--Waytocutewaytocool 
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $10,000 City of Roses Stakes at Portland Meadows

#105--Political Storm
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $2,247 Arizona County Fair Distance Series Stakes at Duncan, Ariz.

#113--P R Royal Princess 
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $12,500 Helen Anthony Memorial Stakes at Yavapai Downs

#118--Gobi Dan
 3 qualifying races
 Qualifying: $100,000 California Sire Stakes (L) at Hollywood Park
 Qualifying: $150,000 California Breeders' Champion Stakes )LR) at Santa Anita
 Qualifying: $100,000 California Sires Stakes (LR) at Santa Anita
 Non-qualifying: $50,000 California Cup Starter Handicap at Santa Anita

#120--Double Credit
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $6,000 Yellowstone Derby at Yellowstone Downs

#132--Bears Mo Red 
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $7,625 Paul Cacci Eel River Starter Sprint Stakes at Ferndale 

#134--Slews In Oz Now 
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $20,000 Anthony Thoroughbred Futurity at Anthony Downs
 Non-qualifying: $3,952 Eureka Downs Thoroughbred Futurity at Eureka Downs

#137--Gold Bankers Gold
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $24,800 Hangonslewpyhangon Stakes at Turf Paradise
 Non-qualifying: Dale Irion Memorial Starter Handicap

#145--Saxony
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: Lakeview Thoroughbred Farms Stakes at Hollywood Park

#159--Our Lucky Kiss
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $15,780 Janet Wineberg Stakes at Portland Meadows
 Non-qualifying: $10,000 Lassie Stakes at Portland Meadows
 Non-qualifying: $10,000 Jane Driggers Debutante S. at Portland Meadows

#167--Exclusive Dancer
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $12,000 Monzano Claiming Handicap at Albuquerque

#171--Por Que No
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $15,000 Yavapai Classic Handicap at Yavapai Downs

#175--Hodaruki
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying:  $5,025 Visa Truck Rentals Maturity Stakes at Grants Pass

#182--More Thunder
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $10,300 Idaho Bred Sophomore Stakes at Les Bois Park

#200--Score Six
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $60,000 Magali Farms Stakes at Hollywood Park

#204--Tiz a Gem
     1 qualifying race
 Qualifying: $150,000 California Cup Distaff Handicap (R) at Santa Anita
 Non-qualifying: $60,000 Magali Farms Stakes at Hollywood Park

#204--Alpine Jewel
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $60,000 Magali Farms Stakes at Hollywood Park

#219--Red Spark
 1 qualifying race
 Qualifying: $40,000 Sandra Hall Grand Canyon Handicap at Turf Paradise
 Non-qualifying: $9,900 Fain Road Stakes at Yavapai Downs
 Non-qualifying: $2,211 Arizona County Fair Sprint Series Stakes at Douglas, Ariz.
 Non-qualifying: $10,200 Diamondback Stakes at Yavapai Downs
 Non-qualifying: $17,500 Gerry Howard Inaugural Handicap at Yavapai Downs
 Non-qualifying: $9,600 Top Hat Stakes at Yavapai Downs
 Non-qualifying: $21,600 Zip Pocket Stakes at Turf Paradise
 Non-qualifying: $12,500 Yavapai Downs Handicap at Yavapai Downs

#219--Cheesepa
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $7,000 Heeler's Star Stakes at Prescott, Ariz.

#234--Bittenbythelaw
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $30,000 A. C. Kemp Handicap at Albuquerque

#244--Tera Kitty
 1  qualifying race
 Qualifying: $80,325 Santa Lucia Handicap (LR) at Santa Anita
 Non-qualifying: $7,200 Lady's Secret Handicap at Les Bois Park
 Non-qualifying: $6,750 Idaho Cup Fillies and Mares Handicap at Les Bois Park
 Non-qualifying: $7,050 Ginger Welch Handicap at Les Bois Park

#259--Sun Son
 No qualifying races
 Non-qualifying: $3,521 Three-Year-Old Sprint Handicap at Grants Pass