Whether identifying clues behind a young sire's success or next season's classic distance prospects, mares are the heart of nearly any conversation.

The heart of our own sales season focuses on the same. Highlighted this year with a return to Newmarket for the Tattersalls December Mare Sale, the homestretch kicks off here in Lexington with the Fasig-Tipton and Keeneland November Sales.

Several notable owner/breeder dispersals, including those of Sam-Son Farm and Sir Robert Ogden, add to the depth typical of the year-end catalogs.

Our itinerary will conclude this Autumn with a resumption of travel abroad and opportunity to check-in at all our familiar stops around English racing's official headquarters, Newmarket. Attendance there at the December Sale will be a gratifying wrap to a second year of unprecedented working conditions.

The balance of trade between American and European bloodstock has shaped trends in breeding and racing on both continents for decades. More than ever, the necessity to outcross is essential, and the continuity throughout the bloodlines typically on offer in Newmarket remains a huge appeal for breeders the world over.