Less was virtually more at London sale
Scaled-down auction was forced to go online, and was a huge success
This past week, the Canadian harness racing industry went through a seismic change that will have ramifications for the future of the game.
The first virtual online yearling auction was staged at the London Selected Sale Company and, despite great trepidation within the game, it was a roaring success.
Forever, the traditional way of selling horses is for the seller to bring the animals to a sales arena where they are auctioned of fina public setting. Nothing has ever changed in Canada and the United States. Until now.
When COVID -19 hit in March, it soon became apparent the customary October auction was in trouble. The Western Fair Agriplex in London was not going to be available having been booked by health authorities as a possible emergency facility should a full-on viral outbreak occur in the city. The sale was on the outside looking in.
The company then decided to pursue the radical approach of the virtual sale. The horses would be sold in an online auction. There were no animals gathered together for inspection by buyers. There was no actual sales ring and gathering of buyers to wrestle over a selling price. It was total 21st-century stuff, and it worked.
Not everyone agreed with the idea, though, and some consignors broke away to stage another auction last week at Winbak Farms of Inglewood, Ont. So, at the London sale, instead of 291 horses being offered up, there were just 102 over three days. The result was totally unexpected with the average coming in at a record $32,480 versus $21,598 from 2019. Granted, there were far less horses but the money was there and it was spent.
The fallout is consignors were ecstatic. Even if the sale company wanted to revert to the traditional format for next year, it would be a very tough sell. Like online shopping in almost all other walks of life, this is an idea whose time has come for horse racing.
However, the idea had a steep hill to climb.
“I had one notable owner contact me and threaten to not only boycott the sale but also take other prominent yearling purchasers with him,” revealed Ann Straatman, sale manager and partner in Seelster Farms, the major consignor in the auction. “The crazy thing is that person ended up buying three horses in the auction.”
In order to entice consignors, the sale company lowered the commission rate by two per cent. Plus the sellers did not have to spend on hotels, meals, etc., during the auction. Removing the need for horses to be transported to the sale pavilion eliminated any chance for injury or sickness. And the need for agents to help market the yearlings was eliminated.
On the buyer’s side, there was more effort needed, though. It required the owners and trainers to make physical visits to the various farms to inspect the horses ahead of the auction.
That did result in the expected amount of grousing.
It is hard to believe this format would not be used next year. Surely, there will be some tweaking to the process but that is not unexpected.
“We could not be more pleased but I think, aside from the sale result, all this is a call to breeders, buyers and trainers that they have to step up their games. Things are changing, getting more competitive. The customary way of doing business is being rethought,” said Straatman.
She also speaks from her pocketbook. Seelster Farms of Lucan blew the roof off the yearling business with an average of $44,596 for 46 yearlings. That was a healthy hike over last year’s $41,818 for 44 yearlings.
The unanswered question about all this is why. Ask 10 different people and there are 10 different answers why the unbridled enthusiasm for buying horses at this auction.
The safety factor, the likelihood they would not be attending the upcoming Maryland sale, the convenience factor, the fact the auction was staged just two days after the rich Ontario Sires Stakes Super Finals all must have played some role in it.
Old-time observers of the game have said for eons the truth as to why horse sales continue to be successful in the light of recessions, political change and now health outbreaks is the simple fact people just like to own horses. It seems too easy and convenient, but it is as good an answer as any. The game lives on.