Next time you have to scramble to come up with that extra handful of cash to buy the horse of your dreams, consider this: Earlier this summer a record price was paid for a yearling Thoroughbred colt at the Japan Racing Horse Association’s select sale. This is the annual sale where young prospects that have passed scrutiny of their pedigree and conformation are offered at public auction. A colt sired by French Deputy sold for $2,024,291. That’s 250-million yen for those of you not handy with a currency conversion calculator. The colt is out of a mare that never raced, but he is a half-brother to a major stakes winner. Nonetheless, with many horse owners fretting about the rising cost of hay, paying more than 2 million dollars for a yearling—remember that this is a horse that has never worn a saddle or galloped against the clock—seems like a transaction from an alternate universe.