Why 'Old School' Breeder Will Be Selling at Fasig-Tipton Digital December Sale

Brilliant Berti (rail) winning the Bryan Station | Coady Media

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It used to be that your options around this time of year were limited when you went to sell a broodmare at auction. There was Fasig-Tipton November, Keeneland November and Keeneland January, all industry staples that had been around for decades before anyone had ever heard of the internet or digital horse sales.

“I never would have believed it and I hadn't been a proponent of digital sales because I'm old school and I like to go and see and look and poke and prod,” said Hume Wornall, who operates Beech Spring Farm. “But these sales seem to work. People are getting more and more comfortable with these sales.”

So when Wornall decided to sell his 11-year-old mare Believe in Bertie (Langfuhr), he picked Fasig-Tipton's December Digital Sale. With 670 horses catalogued, it will be the biggest digital sale ever worldwide. Bidding has begun and will end on Dec. 10th for hips 1-305 and on Dec. 11 for hips 306-670.

This sale was a perfect fit for Wornall. The timing was right. On Oct. 26, Believe in Bertie's 3-year-old son Brilliant Berti (Noble Mission {GB}) won the GIII Bryan Station S., driving up his dam's value. Keeneland January wasn't going to work because that sale comes too close to Believe in Bertie's foaling date. She is foal to Goldencents.

“Things have changed, the whole game has changed,” Wornall said. “There was a time when I would have bet against this digital deal. Now, it looks like it's going to be the thing to do. I don't expect to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, but I would like a nice return. I am presenting a nice product. Goldencents may not be a big seller but he will give you a horse that shows up on race day and is competitive. With Mystik Dan (who is also by Goldencents) having won the Derby this was the time to try it. All the stars have aligned and I decided I'd take a shot. I wanted to strike while the iron was hot.”

Racing might have been slow to give digital sales a chance, but now they have become biggest area of growth within the sales industry.

“We've already seen it between this year and last year, just the volume of horses we've sold online, said Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales Leif Aaron. “It's like any other industry, homes, cars, things that in the early 90s you never thought you'd buy on line that you do now.

“It's only natural that the horse business got in line. It is even more conducive to breeding stock sales because there is no stress put on the horses. Any time you do something in the horse business that is better for the buyers, better for the horses, better for the sellers, it's going to work.”

Aaron believes the numbers will only continue to grow as more and more breeders and consignors realize there is very little downside to selling a horse online, particularly broodmares. Fasig-Tipton will offer 10 digital sales in 2025.

“In the October digital sale we had 850 registered bidders,” Aaron said. “That's enough registered bidders to fill the entire pavilion along with people in the back. It would be a similar atmosphere to our November sale, which is wild.”

Aaron said that traditional and well-known consignors are starting to sell at digital sales, which is something that can only help.

“If you are comparing this to a bricks-and-mortar sale, we have book 1 through book 5 all the way through,” Aaron said. “It's a very similar cast of sellers. This year is the first year that we have had a really strong turnout by the traditional consignor. They are really starting to adapt to these sales. I think the sellers are better represented with the traditional consignors since they know the ins and outs of horse sales. Traditional consignors do a great job selling those horses.”

This is not a sale where you will find horses going for seven-figures or ones whose pedigrees jump off the page. Those are the types of horses sold at Fasig-Tipton November. But with 650 horses in this sale, there's probably something for everyone.

As of noon ET the high bid on Believe in Bertie was $22,000. The sale topper may be Allez Marie (Unbridled's Song). Though Kentucky-bred, she raced in Brazil where she finished second in a Group 2 race. Back home, she's had eight foals, six winners and two black-type winners. By Friday afternoon, the bidding on her had reached $200,000. She is in foal to Elite Power (Curlin).

“Our November sale is always going to be a very important sale,” Aaron said. “It's the best horses in the world. It's an event. It's the Breeders' Cup afterparty. What you're going to see more and more of over the next 10 years will be horses that wouldn't fit in our November catalogue. I think you'll see a lot more of those being sold online. It's already proved to be wildly popular amongst buyers and sellers.”

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