In the flourishing digital age, people can buy pretty much anything they want online. And while offering 2-year-olds online is nothing new for the Fasig-Tipton team, selling a juvenile in training on a digital platform accompanied by many of the traditional resources seen at bricks-and-mortar sales is.
Case in point: at the conclusion of the February Digital sale Tuesday evening, a 2-year-old colt by Yaupon out of MSW Frosty Margarita (Frost Giant) realized a session-topping $250,000 from Dennis O'Neill, bidding on behalf of Shane Yeager. Consigned by De Meric Sales, Hip 42 is a registered New York bred.
“This is the first time that we have catalogued them as 2-year-olds in Training. We had called them horses of racing age previously, but to be catalogued as a 2-year-old in Training, the [consignors] had to provide breeze or gallop videos,” said Leif Aaron, director of digital sales. “We had a large group of consignors asking us to do it. With their support and with the wave of digital sales, it made sense to try it.”
According to Aaron, despite being its maiden voyage, the addition of 2-year-olds in training into its repertoire surpassed all expectations.
“I think it went great. We had a total of 13 and nine have since sold. The clearance rate was very high. The fact that the sale topper came from that portion of the catalog was very encouraging. It showed me, if you put a good horse online, even with just a gallop video, we can sell them.”
He continued, “I am encouraged because we had 60 people registered to bid that have never bought a horse from Fasig-Tipton. At most sales we might have 30-40. We had over 1000 registered bidders, which is a huge number. At our December Digital sale, we had the same kind of numbers for a catalogue of 650 horses. That's basically our whole pavilion filled up and the back ring.”
In addition to the overall interest in the sale, Aaron underscored that the company also saw a tremendous amount of virtual interest surrounding Tuesday's sale-topping Yaupon colt.
“That horse had 4,493 views and 1,119 viewers. You don't really get that kind of exposure anywhere else,” he said. “The horses do get more exposure online which is why we are seeing such a boom in digital sales. There are more buyers and we offer a diverse group of horses. It's where society as a whole is going. It's only natural that it would extend to the horse business.”
The second-highest priced 2-year-old of the sale was Hip 41, a colt by Great Notion who brought $180,000 from Michael Golden. Consigned by Cary Frommer, the Maryland bred is out of SP Fly Girl (Jump Start).
“The sale of the day might have been the colt by Great Notion. People might not necessarily go to a sale to buy a Great Notion, but he is doing very well in Maryland. The colt was an athletic individual and didn't have any holes and as a result, he sold great.”
While selling a juvenile at a bricks-and-mortar sale may appear to be most akin to selling a 2-year-old online, however, Aaron explained that selling on a digital platform can often be a bit more nuanced.
“Of course, you have to have a solid horse. It's almost the same rules that apply at a yearling auction where you have to have all the parts,” he said. “You have to have a solid horse, conformation wise, and good vetting. Then you leave the galloping and the breezing up to the buyers. If you had those three things, the horses sold great.”
Pointing to some of the advantages of selling a 2-year-old in training on a digital platform, Aaron added, “You can remove a bit of the pressure off a normal 2-year-old in training, which some people are just not interested in putting their horses through that rigor.”
And while 2-year-old consignors are among the savviest in the horse business, Aaron admitted that there is a bit of a learning curve when venturing to a digital platform.
“Consignors know what sells but they don't necessarily know what sells online,” he explained. “We have all learned from this. They have learned what can be put online and what is best held for another venue. It was an encouraging learning experience for some of the consignors.”
After a successful initial venture, Aaron indicated the Fasig team is already looking forward to the March Digital Sale, which kicks off Mar. 13 and runs through Mar.18.
“I am already getting calls to put 2-year-olds in for March Digital. We had top-class video and pictures this time and will encourage consignors to do the same going forward.”
When asked what consignors should be retaining for Fasig Tipton's upcoming March digital session, he didn't mince words,
“Bring a horse here that vets well and has good conformation” he affirmed, adding, “And we will get it sold.”
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