OBS Proceeding With Pavilion Makeover

Although details have yet to be worked out, by this time next year the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co. will be well on its way to having a newly refurbished sale pavilion about 30% larger than the current facility and will have about 25% fewer seats.

OBS recently announced the project will begin immediately after its Aug. 24-25 yearling sale, resulting in the decision to cancel the fall mixed sale that had been scheduled for Oct. 11-13. Although the makeover will not be complete, sufficient progress should have been made that the annual January sale will still be held. OBS decided to announce the renovation plans to provide consignors time to make alternate plans for horses that were scheduled to sell in October, hopefully moving them to OBS’ January sale.

The pavilion, which was built some 30 years ago, has undergone several additions and remodeling jobs, including the addition of the covered rear walking ring and popular tiki hut, but the OBS board felt it was time to make a significant upgrade at the Ocala, Fla., sales company that prides itself as the world’s largest seller of 2-year-olds in training, a niche within the public auction market that continues to spiral.

OBS president Tom Ventura said specifics will be released by the company as plans develop, but some of the enhancements will include a makeover of the cramped dining area, including the addition of a seating area to provide a view of the horses as they go into the pavilion from the back walking ring. Also, the dining area will be expanded by relocation of the current video room.

“It’s still a work in progress but we wanted to get the word out as soon as possible so consignors could push their October horses into the January sale,” Ventura said. “Many of our board members were pushing to make these improvements.”

OBS chairman Michael O’Farrell Jr. said there will be about 25% fewer seats under the new configuration that will add about 30% more space to the building.

“We felt like it needed to be done at some point, so why not now,” he said. “Because we have a lot of sales, it makes it hard to do a project like this. We have an older facility that has been added on to numerous times and it’s dated. So we decided to get it done.”

“There is no square foot of anything existing that will not be upgraded,” said OBS secretary/treasurer Dr. Barry Eisaman. “We are just trying to make it a more pleasant place for out customer to shop and have nice amenities. We have been planning on this for a long time. It is one of those things that is easy to kick the can down the road, but we are going to go through with it.”