The 2008 Fasig-Tipton Kentucky winter mixed auction posted an 18.9% gain in average price. The gross revenue rose 1.9% while the median price remained the same as in 2007.
But this year’s edition of the sale, scheduled for Feb. 9 in Lexington, isn’t expected to perform as strongly. With the global economy in a crisis, many mixed auctions late last year and early in 2009 have suffered downturns of 40% of more in their statistics. In such a tough environment, it will difficult for Fasig-Tipton’s winter auction to reverse the trend.
“There is nothing out there yet that has given us a signal that things are going to become intrinsically better,” said Bayne Welker, a Fasig-Tipton account executive. “We’ll just have to continue to wade through the remnants of the market in November and January, and this will be a continuation (of the down cycle). Everybody will go into the sale with similar expectations. We know it’s going to be down, and that’s what everybody has to accept at this point. Then, as things start to shake themselves out and the market starts to rebuild itself, you’ll be able to start trying to look for the positives. What you want to do now is get through it and do as much damage control as you possibly can.”
This year’s winter mixed auction is much smaller than last year’s, which was a two-day event. There are 306 horses cataloged compared to 510 in 2008. Last year’s figures for the 318 horses that sold were a gross of $6,452,400, an average of $20,291, and a median of $7,000. The buy-back rate was 24.5%.
Selling begins at 10 a.m. EST Feb. 9.