Fasig-Tipton Co. is North America’s oldest Thoroughbred auction company

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Where do the beloved thoroughbred champions come from?

History

Founded in 1898 by William B. Fasig and Edward A. Tipton, Fasig-Tipton has become one of America’s most powerful thoroughbred sales companies.

Fasig-Tipton Co. is North America’s oldest Thoroughbred auction company. Its first headquarters were in Madison Square Garden in New York, and Fasig-Tipton initially sold high-class road and carriage horses in addition to Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing stock.

Today, it boasts a diverse calendar of high-profile boutique sales, two-year-old auctions in Florida, Maryland, and Texas and a number of other sales that cater to regional markets.

Yet as North America’s oldest auction house, it also owns an enviable history, one that is laden with iconic graduates ranging from Man O’War, who sold in 1918 at the Saratoga Sale, to other breed-shapers such as Raise A Native, Seattle Slew, Danzig, and Natalma.

Of the 12 Triple Crown winners, only two have ever been offered at public auction, both by Fasig-Tipton: 2015 winner American Pharoah, sold at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale and 1975 Seattle Slew, sold at the 1973 Fasig-Tipton July Sale in Kentucky.

After Fasig’s death in 1903, Tipton took on Enoch James Tranter as his partner. Tranter changed the old catalogue pages, which listed up to 30 dams, to focus on a horse’s immediate family members in racetrack performance and production. That change is still reflected in the sales catalogues of today. Fasig-Tipton also was the first auction company to require certificates of health and pregnancy at broodmare sales.

Fasig-Tipton’s Saratoga sale of selected yearlings is one of the premier horse auctions in the world. It has roots that stretch back to 1917 when Fasig-Tipton formed an alliance with some of the top Kentucky breeders to sell their yearlings during the race meet in upstate New York. The great Man o’ War sold as a yearling at the 1918 Saratoga sale.

The Saratoga sale has produced numerous household names for international horsemen, such as Raise a Native, Natalma, Hoist the Flag, Danzig, Miswaki, Conquistador Cielo, and two-time champion filly Open Mind.

The list continues as 1991 Horse of the Year Black Tie Affair, ‘93 Belmont Stakes winner Colonial Affair, ‘94 Kentucky Derby winner Go For Gin, ‘94 champion mare Sky Beauty, 2002 champion two-year-old male Vindication, ‘03 champion three-year-old male Funny Cide (New York-bred sale), and ‘05 Horse of the Year Saint Liam all emerged from the venerable New York sale grounds.

Humphrey S. Finney, for whom the Saratoga sales pavilion is named, announced his first sale for Fasig-Tipton in 1937. In his 1974 autobiography "Fair Exchange", Finney wrote about an auction company’s need to know about the horses and the value of what they are selling. That commitment to horsemanship and customer service remains a focal point for Fasig-Tipton today.

Kentucky

During World War II breeders could not freely ship yearlings around the country, so the Saratoga sale was put on hold. In 1943 Fasig-Tipton held the sale in a tent at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington. Fred W. Hooper Jr. purchased 1945 Kentucky Derby winner Hoop Jr. for $10,200 at the ’43 sale.

It was not until 1972 that Fasig-Tipton established its permanent Kentucky headquarters in Lexington, from which it initiates a year-round sales schedule for Thoroughbred auctions across the country.

The Kentucky division was an immediate source of high class racing stock. Its classic winning graduates include Seattle Slew, Genuine Risk, Dancing Brave, Rainbow Quest, and Unbridled.

The highest-priced broodmare of all time, Broodmare of the Year Better Than Honour, sold for $14-million at the 2008 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky selected fall mixed sale.

Other prominent Kentucky graduates include Kentucky Derby winners Go For Gin, Big Brown and Mine That Bird; Dubai World Cup victor Captain Steve; as well as champions Artax, Silverbulletday, Blind Luck, and Dubai Majesty.

Two-year-old sales

Finney and Joe O'Farrell, the pioneer of Thoroughbred breeding in Florida and founder of Ocala Stud, combined their talents in 1952 to put on the first two-year-olds in training sale at Hialeah Park. When additional training sales started in California, Maryland, Kentucky, and Louisiana, it was Fasig-Tipton conducting the auctions.

Fasig-Tipton’s Florida two-year-old sale has long been the worldwide leader, producing more stakes-winning graduates than any currently operating two-year-old in training sale.  Held at Calder Race Course from 1983-2010, the sale moved its location in 2011 to Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach – one of the finest training facilities in North America.

Monarchos, the 2001 Kentucky Derby winner, as well as dual Classic winner Risen Star, Japanese Champion Kurofune, and North American champions Left Bank, Stevie Wonderboy, and Gio Ponti are just a few of the horses who have made “The Florida Sale” a premier event for international buyers.

The Florida Sale also sold the most expensive horse of all time - $16-million for The Green Monkey at the 2006 auction. The Fasig-Tipton Midlantic two-year-olds in training sale counts 2001 champion three-year-old filly Xtra Heat, 2005 champion three-year-old colt Afleet Alex, and 2009 champion female sprinter Informed Decision among its graduates.

Since May 2008, Fasig-Tipton has been under the ownership of the Dubai-based Synergy Investments, a company headed by Dubai businessman Abdulla Al Habbai, who purchased the auction house from a group of shareholders led by the Hettinger family.

Following the company’s sale to Synergy Investments, the importance of attracting new faces to racing and improving customer focus were identified as long-term goals by company officials. And it wasn’t long before some of those plans were in motion, with Fasig-Tipton reducing the time between selling and payment for horses sold at that year’s Kentucky July Yearling Sale.

“Sale houses are small companies who are the custodians of a product,” said Terence Collier, director of marketing, “and the corporate policy reflects the personalities of their people. Our entire philosophy revolves around maintaining key relationships with people, the vendors, and sellers.

“Since we came under new ownership, we have sought professional advice and input from outside management consultants,” he said. “The overriding theme arising from that has been the importance of continuing to build relationships.”

Powerful rebranding of various sales - the Kentucky Selected Mixed Fall Sale became simply “The November Sale” – was another measure taken following the company’s sale in line with a particularly dynamic approach to marketing. The promised increased customer focus also came to fruition. As presenting partner of the 2012 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, Fasig-Tipton went to extreme lengths to facilitate the attendance of interested participants at that year’s The November Sale, staged two days later in Kentucky, by securing a special charter flight from Los Angeles to Lexington.

At the track, a strong presence has been maintained by high-profile race sponsorship. For instance, from 2009 to 2012 Fasig-Tipton backed the Fountain Of Youth Stakes, run at Gulfstream Park in the month prior to the prestigious Florida Sale at the nearby Palm Meadows Training Center. Since 2009, the company has hosted the Fasig-Tipton Festival of Racing ahead of their August sales in Saratoga, a celebration of Fasig-Tipton’s strong ties to New York racing ahead.

In the meantime, the Kentucky, Maryland, and Saratoga sale grounds underwent extensive upgrades. The Kentucky office and sales pavilion were transformed from a single-story structure into a building of three levels, in part to accommodate a growing staff. Saratoga also underwent an extensive redesign.

“Improving those facilities was a major expense,” Collier said. “But apart from improving the various physical fronts of the company, new ownership has allowed us to focus further on key sales and develop those markets, in particular The November Sale. And with that, the management sells those flagship sales with confidence, in particular internationally.”

An early visit to Fasig-Tipton for Michael Donohoe of BBA Ireland, Ltd. in 2006 resulted in the $60,000 purchase of Idonea, subsequently a Listed winner at Dusseldorf. Since then, the Co. Kildare-based agent has become a regular European face at the company’s sales, both in New York and Kentucky.

“The team there look after you very well,” he said. “Their hospitality is second to none and that is right across-the-board.

“Their facilities have improved enormously in Kentucky and New York. I liken the Kentucky grounds to Goffs – it’s very easy to work with the barns being so near to the sale ring.”

Synergy Investment’s purchase of Fasig-Tipton coincided with the final heady years of the bloodstock market, which included the record $16 million sale of The Green Monkey to Demi O’Byrne at the 2006 Calder 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale. In fact, the first November Sale under Synergy’s ownership in 2008 was highlighted by the sale of Better Than Honour to Southern Equine Stables for $14 million, a world-record price for a broodmare.

But as with the bloodstock world in general, Fasig-Tipton was not immune to the effects of the recession, which hit the industry so hard from late 2008. However, last year was a particularly successful one for the company, with Fasig-Tipton turning over close to $231 million in total sales, up 21 percent from 2012 (a year that was boosted by the $10 million sale of Havre De Grace at The November Sale).

One vendor to enjoy a particularly good November Sale last year was Three Chimneys Farm in Kentucky, who sold $9.675 million worth of horses including Love And Pride for $4.9 million to Borges Torrealba Holdings.

“Two things set Fasig-Tipton apart,” said the farm’s President Case Clay. “The team's hustle and their ‘make it work’ approach to recruiting and selling. I have also never had an experience with Fasig-Tipton in which they were not flexible to our or our clients' needs.”

SARATOGA

Top-class racing and elite yearlings combine to make The Saratoga Sale one of the most prestigious auctions of its kind worldwide.

A boutique event staged over two evening sessions that coincides with Saratoga Race Course’s August meeting just blocks away, The Saratoga Sale is followed by the New York Preferred Yearling Sale, a thriving auction on the Fasig-Tipton calendar that is confined to New York-breds.

Both sales are staged in the Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion, which was opened in 1968 and underwent major renovations shortly after Fasig-Tipton’s sale to Synergy Investments. The multi-million dollar project was carried out in two stages and comprised a redesign of the pavilion, expansion of the restaurant, and construction of a new walking ring and horse-holding area.

On the track, business remained normal as Fasig-Tipton’s flagship sale continued to churn out top-class runners, a tradition that stretches back to Man O’War, a graduate of the 1918 Saratoga Sale.

Saratoga graduates Cross Traffic and Midnight Lucky each garnered Group 1 honors in 2013, taking the Whitney Handicap and Acorn Stakes respectively. In February, they were joined on the roll of honor by Lochte, winner of the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap who sold to Newmarket-based agent Anthony Stroud for $475,000 in 2011.

A regular European visitor to Saratoga, Stroud also signed for the 1000 Guineas and Irish Oak heroine Blue Bunting in 2009.

Another European agent who regularly makes the trip is BBA Ireland’s Donohoe.

“If someone said to me ‘I would like to buy a top yearling at a place that is fun,’ I would definitely take them to Saratoga,” he said.

“It’s a little like Royal Ascot. It’s great fun. You have top-class racing, there are lots of parties and a few celebrities are in town from New York. And to top it all off, the cream of the American yearling crop are on offer.”

Its location in relation to Saratoga Race Course is also a major advantage.

“A lot of the American trainers are based at Saratoga for the meeting and so are the owners - they can just walk across the street,” Donohoe said. “So obviously it’s that much easier to attract buyers.”

The Saratoga Fall Mixed and Horses of Racing Age Sale was introduced in 2012, but despite its short history, already boasts a Grade 1-winning graduate in the aforementioned Lochte, sold for $60,000 to Carolyn Vogel last October.

Max Hodge - Vice President for Client Services and married to my niece

DYNAMIC MARKETING 

Fasig-Tipton has long been a forward-thinking company that employs an aggressive approach to its marketing.

It was one of the first sale companies to champion the use of interactive web-based catalogues and embrace the concept of supplementary entries - 66 late additions were accepted to the 2014 Kentucky Winter Mixed Sale in the weeks following publication of the original catalogue.

Accomplished graduates are celebrated via a “Horse of the Week” page on the Fasig-Tipton website, where the achievements of each horse can be viewed on film, on some occasions complete with comments from the consignor or buyer. The page is an integral part of “Fasig-Tipton TV”, where promotional videos, such as footage of the $10 million sale of Havre De Grace, and under tack videos (including archives) can also be viewed.

Fasig-Tipton also maintains a prominent presence on Twitter and encourages industry players to keep up to date with news through its e-newsletter.

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Will American Pharoah bring America together during trying times? The Triple Crown, perhaps the most difficult achievement in all of sports

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In 1973 the world was in turmoil and America was just finishing one of the most challenging decades in the history of our nation.  There were student riots, anti-Vietnam war riots, Civil Rights riots, assassinations of major public figures, and we were ending ten years of war in Asia leaving over 57,000 dead.

Towns were in flames as wave after wave of social issues pummeled America, shaking it to the very foundation.  Then there was the Cold war, Bay of Pigs, Cuban missile crisis, and even Watergate break in.  Our institutions were under assault by the very citizens of our country.

In 1973 it had been twenty-five years since a horse had won horse racing's coveted Triple Crown, the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes.  We were barely out of the second World War when Citation won in 1948.

There have only been 11 Triple Crown Champions since 1875.  The longest drought without a champion since the first Triple Crown in 1919 is the current 37 years.  Second longest was the 25 years before Secretariat became champion in the most remarkable series of races in thoroughbred history.  As I have outlined, it came when the nation was in need of a new hero and in need of hope. To this day Secretariat holds the record for fastest in all three races.

Triple Crown Champions 

1919    Sir Barton

1930    Gallant Fox

1935    Omaha

1937    War Admiral

1941    Whirlaway

1943    Count Fleet

1946    Assault

1948    Citation

1973    Secretariat

1977    Seattle Slew

1978    Affirmed

Once again we are coming off a rather tough decade of wars, political animosity,strained relations with most of our allies, threats from terrorists that have already killed thousands of Americans, a fractured economy, financial collapse, corruption, political constipation, and about all the things needed to result in a Triple Crown winner at last.

Saturday we might get to watch history being made when American Pharaoh attempts to win the magical Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes, the longest race the horse has ever run. Many get the chance but few have captured the brass ring and walked away with the Triple Crown.

Following is a very good article analyzing the prospects in the race.

The Horse I'll Bet to Upset American Pharoah

By David Papadopoulos

Pharoah on this day.

The math looks like this: Belmont Park officials forecast Pharoah will go off at odds of 3-5 while Materiality will be 6-1. Those prices spit out implied win probabilities -- after factoring in the track’s cut -- of 53 percent and 12 percent, respectively. In my own fair odds estimate, those numbers would look something more like 43 percent for Pharoah and 22 percent for Materiality.

Combined, that’s a 20-percentage point gap between market prices and my true-value calculations. For any gambler worth his salt, that’s a huge green light to go ahead and bet the undervalued horse.

So I will.

Here’s a breakdown of the full Belmont field. Runners are listed by post position. Odds are the racetrack’s estimate of how the public will bet.

-No. 1 Mubtaahij (10-1) -- I was underwhelmed by his effort in the Kentucky Derby. He made the same basic mechanical mistakes that he had in his previous races, and his daily workouts at Belmont since then have gotten mediocre reviews. If he were 20-1, maybe I’d dabble, but not at this price.

-No. 2 Tale of Verve (15-1) -- This colt’s trainer, Dallas Stewart, is cut from the same cloth as the men in charge of numbers 4 and 7 (Nick Zito and Dale Romans): Dreamers who ambitiously place their horses in America’s biggest races. All three have pulled off shocking upsets over the years but have more often seen their charges go down in lopsided defeats. Tale of Verve is a classic case. He finished second behind Pharoah -- albeit a distant-second -- at odds of 28-1 in the Preakness Stakes. Could he duplicate that effort on Saturday? Maybe, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

-No. 3 Madefromlucky (12-1) -- This horse has the right running style for the Belmont’s marathon 1 1/2-mile distance: He’s a one-paced sort who has no real burst of speed but just keeps grinding away. I can’t knock anyone for taking a shot on him at this kind of a price.

-No. 4 Frammento (30-1) -- He was in over his head in the Kentucky Derby and he is again here. For those looking for reasons to bet him, though, note that Zito has spoiled two Triple Crown bids in the past 11 years, knocking off Smarty Jones in 2004 and Big Brown four years later. Both times, his horses paid over 30-1.

-No. 5 American Pharoah (3-5) -- The big horse. He has all the tools. Questions are, especially for those inclined to back him at such prohibitive odds: Will he handle Belmont’s deep sandy surface (There’s something about the way he spun his wheels a bit over a very dry track on Derby day that suggests he might not)? Will the wear and tear of four races in eight weeks catch up to him late in the stretch? Will his jockey Victor Espinoza keep him out of trouble? If the answers to those questions are yes-no-yes, then the Triple Crown drought will end late Saturday afternoon.

-No. 6 Frosted (5-1) -- A very talented, well-bred colt that ran big in the Derby to get up for fourth place despite getting caught wide on the turns. And by all accounts, he’s been training great here in New York. Dangerous horse.

-No. 7 Keen Ice (20-1) -- He stumbled into some traffic in the Derby that slowed him down a bit, and that’ll lure some bettors to him in the Belmont. I won’t be one of them.

-No. 8 Materiality (6-1) -- He’s fast, he’s rested and he’s much more seasoned now after getting bounced around early in the Derby (he surged by 11 horses in the stretch that day to finish sixth). Now some touts spotted flaws in his final major workout last week, but they’re nitpicking. To my eye, it looked good. And when I asked his trainer Todd Pletcher what he made of the chatter, he was unmoved: “I wouldn’t listen to any of that.” This is where I’m putting my money.

(David Papadopoulos, managing editor for the Americas editing hub at Bloomberg News, has been following thoroughbred racing for more than two decades and was runner-up in 2008 Eclipse Award voting for feature writing on the sport.)

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