Thumbs Up for Fasig-Tipton's California Initiative

The announcement that Fasig-Tipton would conduct two auctions in 2019 at Santa Anita Park and the subsequent news that Barretts would no longer have horse sales after this year signaled a return to the California market by one of North America's leading sales companies after a lengthy absence and the withdrawal of a company that had served the region for nearly 30 years.

The Stronach Group, which operates Santa Anita, and Fasig-Tipton announced July 13 they entered an agreement and have tentatively scheduled a 2-year-olds in training sale for next June 5 and a yearling sale for September 24 or 25.

The announcement was quickly praised by representatives of California's breeding, racing, and ownership groups and those who consign to public auctions are also giving it a thumbs up.

Barretts, founded by Fred Sahadi, Jerry McMahon, and Ralph Hinds in 1989, is presently owned by Fairplex, which is managed by the non-profit Los Angeles County Fair Association that has said it would no longer have Thoroughbred auctions beyond 2018.

What would otherwise be a void in the Southern California market—the California Thoroughbred Breeders Association conducts an annual sale in the Northern part of the state—will be filled by Fasig-Tipton, which previously conducted the CTBA sales but has been out of that market since the mid-1980s.

During its first year of sales in 1990, Barretts conducted five sales in which 1,009 horses were sold (from 1,332 offered) for gross receipts of $22,356,900 and an average price of $22,157, according to BloodHorse MarketWatch. In 2017, the six Barretts auctions grossed $14,979,800 on sales of 441 head, from 640 offered, with a $33,968 average.

Fasig-Tipton president Boyd Browning Jr. said the agreement with The Stronach Group came about after it became apparent Barretts would no longer exist past this year.

"It became pretty clear that the Los Angeles County Fair Board was moving in a different direction and there was a need from an industry standpoint and an opportunity from a business standpoint to fulfill a need in that marketplace," Browning said. "From our perspective, Santa Anita is the perfect location on a long-term basis to conduct sales in California."

Fasig-Tipton and The Stronach Group already have another partnership, with the sales company holding its selected 2-year-olds in training auction at TSG's Gulfstream Park in Florida.

"(The Stronach Group) perceived a need and a desire to serve the marketplace," Browning said. "Breeders needed a long-term option. The California breeding program is important to California racing and The Stronach Group has an understanding of that and a desire to fulfill the needs of the marketplace. The horse population is critical to the racetrack and a strong sales program will benefit Santa Anita and all California racing on a long-term basis."

Browning said the two sales tentatively scheduled for 2019 were selected because "the analysis was that those made sense initially and the dates we thought were strategically placed to benefit sellers and buyers alike."

This year, Barretts held an April selected 2-year-olds in training sale after holding a selected juvenile sale in March and an open 2-year-old sale in May of last year.

If the rest of the 2-year-old sales calendar for 2019 remains status quo, the California sale would fall between Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic sale that takes place the week after the Preakness Stakes (G1) in mid-May and prior to the Ocala Breeders' Sales auction in mid-June.

"When you look at the 2-year-old sales calendar, it is crowded," Browning said. "There are not a lot of available dates based on the traditional schedule and you had to do something that made sense for the marketplace in conjunction with the other sales being conducted throughout the U.S."

Andy Havens of Southern California-based Havens Bloodstock welcomed Fasig-Tipton's return to the California market.

"They are a first-rate company and having the cachet of Santa Anita for the sales, you couldn't pick a better spot," Havens said.

Havens said it is apparent that Frank Stronach recognizes the correlation between a healthy California breeding program and Santa Anita's racing program, and that the auction marketplace "drives the investment in breeding."

While he is pleased Fasig-Tipton will be conducting two sales in 2019, Havens said there will still be a need for additional opportunities to sell horses in Southern California, with hopefully a mixed sale that would provide a transfer of breeding stock added to the calendar.

The state has its share of agencies that sell at 2-year-olds in training sales, but juvenile sales in California rely upon support from the traditional training centers in Florida and South Carolina.

Raul Reyes, who operates Florida-based King's Equine and has been a regular at the California sales, agreed that Santa Anita is an ideal location for a June sale.

"I think it is all positive," said Reyes, who was raised in California. "It is a nice, safe dirt track and the weather in California in June is nice. Doing it at Santa Anita will help a lot because the horses will be right in their (buyers') back yard. They won't have to drive three hours to the sale and three hours back. I'm looking forward to it."