By Jessica Martini
The inaugural Keeneland Championship Sale–part glitzy party, part horse auction–will be held in the Del Mar paddock Oct. 30, offering invitation-only attendees, as well as off-site bidders, the chance to become owners of horses running in the Breeders' Cup at the oceanside oval just days later. The catalogue for the auction was released Thursday, revealing full or fractional interests available in four Breeders' Cup contenders, as well as a stallion share in a fifth championship starter. The 12 offerings in the auction also include a half-sister to a Breeders' Cup runner, a 3-year-old heading for a Grade I race later in the month and stallion share in champion Flightline.
“We spend a lot of time talking about what's good for the market. What would be exciting for the market, what are ways to get new owners engaged, what is the market looking for,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said of the inception of the championship sale. “The more we talked, the more we thought it would be really fun to offer an opportunity to get engaged with a horse that obviously has a lot of action in the next days following the sale and potentially even the ability to roll it right back into the [Keeneland November] sales ring. It just seemed like a great opportunity to create a lot of excitement and fun around what is already a tremendous week for the sport with the Breeders' Cup championships.”
Arvin admitted part of the inspiration for the sale came from the Goffs London Sale, an auction held on the eve of the Royal Ascot meeting which offers bidders the chance to buy entries for the legendary meet. But another inspiration was provided by a pre-Breeders' Cup party Keeneland hosted two years ago.
“We hosted a party the Tuesday or Wednesday before the Breeders' Cup when it was here in 2022 and we hosted it out at Castle & Key [Distillery],” said Arvin. “We found it was a really unique and fun experience. We started with that. We say all the time, many of the people involved in this sport at the highest levels as principals are great businesspeople and work really hard at other things. And part of the reason that they want to be involved in our sport is for fun. We want to provide that unique, top-level experience for our people.”
Once the concept for the auction was in place, the Keeneland team moved on to logistics. With limited capacity in the Del Mar paddock, on-site participation for the party/auction will be by invitation only.
“The people who are there will be some of our sellers and accredited buyers who are pre-registered and have gone through the paper work,” explained Keeneland Vice President of Racing Tony Lacy. “They are green-lighted for the sale itself.”
The party in the paddock will begin at 5 p.m. PT, with the sale starting at 6:30 p.m. After the dozen horses are offered, the party will resume.
“It's a party. And we want it to be party,” Lacy said. “We want it to be fun. The experience is very much a part of, and leading into, what the world championships are. And that is a celebration.”
Days after hosting the Breeders' Cup in 2022, Keeneland opened its November Breeding Stock Sale by offering a share in recently retired GI Breeders' Cup Classic winner Flightline. In front of a packed pavilion–and with plenty of fanfare–the share sold for $4.6 million. The Championship Sale is an extension of that sort of energy-creating initiative, according to Lacy.
“As you see at the sales, we are all about trying to create an environment where everybody is enjoying themselves,” Lacy said. “It creates the synergy that allows people to feel a part of the action. This allows people to potentially be a part of the action at the Breeders' Cup on some horses or in the future endeavors of some very high-class horses. I think that in itself creates a lot of buzz.”
While on-site attendance will be limited, those interested can take part in the festivities–and the bidding–remotely. FanDuel will provide coverage of the sale on its racing channel and on its app from 6:30-7:30 p.m. Fans can also watch the action on Keeneland's YouTube channel and Gabby Gaudet will provide coverage from the paddock.
Keeneland will also offer phone and on-line bidding to registered buyers.
The dozen horses catalogued for the auction include 25% interests in GI Breeders' Cup Mile/Turf contender Gold Phoenix (Ire) (Belardo {Ire}) (hip 2) and GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf contender Kilwin (Twirling Candy) (hip 8); and a 50% interest in GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile hopeful Mufasa (Chi) (Practical Joke) (hip 9). Pandora's Gift (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) (hip 11), heading either for the GI Breeders' Cup F/M Sprint or GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint.
Also on offer will be a stallion share in GI Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint contender Cogburn (Not This Time) (hip 5).
“We threw a wide net out to the industry at large, looking primarily for horses with connections to the Breeders' Cup,” Keeneland Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said of the recruitment process for the inaugural event. “We are very excited with the 12 horses in the catalogue. We've got four shares–between 25% and 100% interest–in four different Breeders' Cup contenders. We've got five big-time stakes performers that could go anywhere in the world from here. We are very excited with the diversity and the relevance and the variety of what is on offer on Wednesday the 30th.”
Of the team's initial expectations for the catalogue's numbers, Breathnach said, “It actually is right where we want it to be. We kind of figured it could be eight or it could be 20. We just really didn't know where it was going to land. But we have been very well supported by the customer base and by the clientele. People are very excited about this and they want to be part of it.”
The catalogue, as well as relevant bidder registration forms, for the Championship Sale, are available at championship.keeneland.com.
“It's a very interactive catalogue,” Breathnach said. “There is a lot of information on there on the various offerings and the percentage interests for horses that are not selling in whole. The prospective bidder form is housed there and that is going to be an important part of the process. In order for people to inspect horses that are on the backstretch at Del Mar and in order for people to participate remotely via the phone or via the online platform, we ask them to fill out the perspective bidder form, so that we have the information we need to make this as seamless as possible.”
In order for Wednesday's buyers to be participants on championship weekend, officials from the California Horse Racing Board will be on hand at the sale to make sure the licensing paperwork is handled expeditiously.
“We would encourage anyone who is interested in registering, that they are registered as owners and licensed as owners in California if they want to bid on any of these horses that are participating over the Breeders' Cup weekend,” Lacy said. “Just to make sure the paper work is in place, so it makes it as seamless as possible. The CHRB will be there to help complete the transfer and get everything organized.”
Of the expected buying bench for the auction, Lacy said, “We want this to be a gateway for people that are looking at this sport as a potential investment or a potential interesting activity for them to get involved. This can be a way that they can come in at the highest level and be able to participate and enjoy the sport. We have gotten interest from potential buyers we didn't have in our system that are completely new to the game and are pretty serious punters.”
The auction can also appeal to established owners, Lacy added.
“You could have somebody who has a horse who didn't make it or didn't have a horse good enough for the Breeders' Cup this year, and really wants to be a part of it,” he continued. “This is something that can support California racing, can support new fans and new investors, as well as current investors. It's a way of sort of spreading the love a little easier for people who want to.”
The auction's main attraction will be going from the sales ring Wednesday to the winner's circle Friday or Saturday.
“Hopefully the successful bidders will be successful at the weekend,” Breathnach said.
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