Sales protocols across Europe this autumn - global bloodstock calendar thrown into disarray by Covid 19 - how auction houses have embraced changes to their business practices
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By Alysen Miller
With the global bloodstock calendar thrown into disarray by the coronavirus pandemic, auction houses have had to embrace changes to their business practices in order to keep the show on the road.
As a European summer racing season like no other winds towards its conclusion, the eyes of the racing world turn towards the autumn yearling sales. But the view from a corona-ravaged gallery might be somewhat different from previous years. “Things have been different already,” explains Alix Choppin, Head of Marketing and Business Development for Arqana. Earlier this summer, the major houses in Europe and North America made emergency changes to their calendars to enable their summer sales to go ahead. Arqana partnered with Goffs to move their Breeze-Up Sale to Doncaster to allow then-locked-down British buyers to attend.
Now, hot on the heels of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s announcement that any person entering the UK from France will be subject to 14 days’ quarantine, their Select Yearling Sale was brought forward to early September in order to allow buyers who make the journey to Deauville to follow with the Goffs Orby Sale, also relocated to Doncaster, then on to Newmarket for the relocated Tattersalls Ireland sale and the regular Tattersalls October Yearling Sales at Park Paddocks.
This ‘moveable feast’ approach to auctioneering is just one way in which the major European sales houses are adapting to this strange new world. But it is not without its challenges. As the all-important yearling sales season approaches, the major houses around Europe are facing the prospect of restricted attendance and reduced volumes. “At the moment, the situation is that no American buyers are going to be able to attend unless they have a European residence or a European passport,” notes Choppin. “So that’s a big issue. The same applies to Australians and people from the Middle East. That’s obviously a big challenge.”
The decision to hold the Arqana and Goffs Breeze-Up Sales at the same time and in the same place, albeit with a reduced catalogue, proved to be a benefit for both buyers and sellers who would otherwise not have been able to make the trip.
It was a different story for BBAG. The German auction house had to cancel its breeze-up sale in May. At time of writing, their Premier Yearling Sale had just taken place, topped by a record-equalling sister to Sea The Moon. “We were very happy that we could hold our Yearling Sale,” said BBAG’s Managing Director Klaus Eulenberger. After first demonstrating that they could hold a ‘concept’ sale that complied with Baden-Württemberg state COVID regulations, BBAG was given the go-ahead for entrance to up to 500 active buyers. “It was held in a way which was quite different to what is normal here, but at least we could have a sale; and there are no big troubles right now.”
BBAG
With its smaller volumes (BBAG catalogues between 600-650 horses a year) and boutique catalogue, the annual yearling sale in the picturesque spa town of Baden-Baden—nestled in the foothills of Germany’s Black Forest—is as much a social event as a yearling sale. “This year our sales are not open for the public,” laments Eulenberger. “Usually we have loads of tourists, loads of visitors here. It’s a special atmosphere for them. They can’t access the sales this year.” For those agents and trainers who could not attend in person, a live stream was provided and telephone bidding accepted, although BBAG has no immediate plans to offer online bidding at any of its auctions.
Tattersalls
Tattersalls has used the opportunity presented by COVID to expedite the introduction of its new online bidding platform. “We’ve already rolled out an awful lot of new initiatives to try and make things as easy as possible for buyers in what’s proving to be a very difficult and challenging year for all concerned,” says Marketing Director Jimmy George. “We’ve been looking at developing an online sales platform for the last few years, but the outbreak of the virus accelerated that process. We now have a really good, fully functional online sales platform.” Live internet bidding was available for both the Craven and Ascot Breeze-Up Sales. Nevertheless, it’s hoped that the October Yearling Sales will be able to be conducted in a conventional manner. “So far, we’ve conducted five sales at Tattersalls paddocks since the outbreak of the virus, and every single one of them has enjoyed clearance rates of 83% or higher,” says George. However, even the mighty Tattersalls is not immune to the economic fallout of a global pandemic. “The numbers in each of those catalogues were smaller than they would be in a normal year, and that’s COVID-related,” says George. “And I don’t think anybody is under any illusions about the challenges that everybody’s facing—not just in the thoroughbred industry, but in every walk of life.”
Widely regarded as Europe’s signature yearling sale, Book 1 traditionally attracts buyers and sellers from all over the world. Jewels in this year’s catalogue include a Frankel half-brother to Prix de l’Abbaye and Nunthorpe Stakes winner Marsha, and a Kingman half-brother to 2,000 Guineas hero Galileo Gold. So what impact will ongoing travel restrictions have on the ability of clientele to snap up a future champion? “This is an ever-changing scene, so it’s extremely hard to predict. But we’ve introduced many different ways in which we can facilitate participation from buyers who are unable to attend any of our sales, to reflect the difficulties that some people are having. But equally, we’re in a better place than we were earlier in the year in terms of who can, and cannot, travel reasonably freely to the UK. The challenge is to do everything we possibly can within our power to make it easy for people to participate,” says George. While online bidding will not be available for the October Yearling Sales, Tattersalls has rolled out more extensive telephone bidding for those unable to attend the sales in person.
Arqana
By contrast, Arqana offered online bidding for its Select Yearling Sale. “We had the advantage of having an online platform before, named Arqana Online,” says Choppin. “But it was quite different. Originally, it was run under the format ‘one horse, one sale’ for rather elite horses in training or stallion shares. So this is the first year that we’re moving it to a mainstream online platform to complement live bidding.” Arqana also produced videos of all the yearlings to be auctioned so buyers can get a first glimpse. …
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