Fasig-Tipton's newly renovated sale pavilion near Lexington "will blow your mind," according to Terence Collier, the company's director of marketing. Buyers and consignors at the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky select yearling sale Monday and Tuesday will see a "complete transformation," he said, as a result of the "multimillion-dollar" project.
Improvements include new seating, new lighting, new decorations, a new color scheme of muted earth tones, and new configurations involving the front lobby, stairs, and upstairs bar. There also is a new business center in the area where public telephones used to be located.
In addition, the repository has been upgraded to handle the transition from film X-rays to digital X-ray technology.
"Eighty percent of the (X-ray) information we receive is in digital form, so we have gone from an essentially light-box-driven repository to a CD-driven repository with high quality viewing screens and workstations," Collier said.
During the July yearling auction, Fasig-Tipton will be testing a new system that will give veterinarians Internet access to the digital radiographs taken of sale horses.
Work on the renovation project began it February. According to Collier, it was the first time major improvements had been made in the sale pavilion in more than 10 years.