OBS Prepares for Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale

With sellers and buyers anxious for the juvenile auction season to resume after being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ocala Breeders' Sales is putting the final touches on protocols and logistics for its next auction, the rescheduled Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale.

Initially set for April 21-24, the June 9-12 sale consists of 1,231 original entries and 78 supplements. The regular catalog is online and the supplemental catalog will be online this week. Print editions of both catalogs will be mailed beginning later this week.

The under tack show is scheduled for May 31 to June 6.

With Fasig-Tipton's cancellation of The Gulfstream Sale, its selected sale at Gulfstream Park, and the Santa Anita 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, and Keeneland canceling its April sale along with its Spring Meet, the only juvenile auction to date was the OBS March 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. According to revised OBS figures, 291 horses grossed $27,902,500 for an average price of $93,747 and a $50,000 median.

"A lot of people are trying to shake off the cobwebs of isolation and there is a lot of enthusiasm from the people we are talking to and are wanting to get back to some sense of normalcy," said Tod Wojciechowski, OBS's director of sales. "We canvassed a lot of people and we were encouraged by the number of buyers who were positive about us moving forward."

OBS will have a combination of buying options, including live, internet, and phone bidding, and will release details of those logistics closer to the sale date.

"There will be provisions made for bidding by those unable to travel," Wojciechowski said.

With the state of Florida moving into Phase 1 of relaxed COVID-19 restrictions that closely parallel those recommended by the federal government, OBS will have safety and hygiene protocols in place similar to those implemented in March, Wojciechowski said. 

"The hope is we will be in Phase 2 by the time the sale rolls around, which is different level of protocols and different set of circumstances we'll be working under than are in Phase 1," he said.

"People were very appreciative of the safety and sanitation protocols in place for the March sale that gave people confidence we were working hard to protect them," Wojciechowski said, noting there were no known health issues from those that attended the March sale. "We are doing what we can to provide a safe environment."

Wojciechowski said Ocala, Fla. hotels are open and that restaurants were beginning to resume in-house dining, with some restrictions on number of patrons consistent with implementation of Phase 1 and will likely change under Phase 2.