Barretts January mixed sale opens on Tuesday
by Pete Denk
Barretts Equine Ltd.’s January mixed sale kicks off the auction year in California today with what Barretts President Jerry McMahon described as a meat-and-potatoes sale.
The two-day mixed sale will be held at Hinds Pavilion in Pomona, California, on Tuesday and Wednesday, with sessions beginning daily at 11 a.m.
Dispersals from Stan Fulton and Granja Vista del Rio Stable propelled last year’s auction to total sales of $4,180,400 and an average price of $9,544, both increases of more than 20%.
There are no major dispersals this year, and McMahon does not expect to approach last year’s levels.
“Our mixed sales go up and down based on what kind of dispersals there are,” McMahon said. “We’ve been through a lot of those in the last few years, but this is more of a normal sale.
“Frankly, we’re not blessed with a top-end racehorse consignment this year. In terms of overall numbers, this will not hit last year’s numbers.”
With a catalog of 524 and another 40 supplements, McMahon expects slightly fewer than 500 horses to go through the ring after scratches. At last year’s sale, Barretts reported 438 horses sold from 538 offered, producing a buy-back rate of just 18.1%. The median of $4,500 was a 28.6% increase from 2006.
Multiple stakes winner Selvatica sold for a sale record $560,000. Narvick International purchased the six-year-old Forestry mare out of the Strawberry Road (Aus) mare Pareja. Selvatica was consigned by Havens Bloodstock Agency, agent for the Granja Vista Del Rio dispersal.
The first mixed sale of 2008—the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Co.’s winter mixed sale on January 16-18—experienced a 27.2% decline in total receipts and a 21.1% dip in average price.
“Reports were that it was pretty rough at the low end at OBS, and I presume that’s going to happen here too,” McMahon said. “Demand for lesser horses in the whole country is very, very soft right now. I don’t know if that’s a result of difficulty in the economy or a case of rising costs in the horse industry.”
Pete Denk is sales editor for Thoroughbred Times