Page 73 - August 2015

Buying horses at public auction can be as big a thrill as winning a race. Once you’ve signed the ticket, however, there are responsibilities that come with the new acquisition. Heritage Place’s Spence Kidney and veteran trainer Russell Harris offer a primer for new owners taking the leap into horse ownership.
You’ve decided to take the plunge and buy an American Quarter Horse. Now, what? There are many aspects to horse ownership and a few common ways to acquire a racehorse. Owners can claim a horse at the racetrack, buy a horse privately from a breeder or another owner, or purchase a yearling at public auction. This article, a primer of sorts, focuses on the later and what prospective owners can expect to encounter as soon as they sign a ticket on their new horse.
For starters, new owners should acquaint themselves with the costs associated with horse ownership beyond the initial cost. If buying at public auction, an understanding of the sales process is important. Buyers should familiarize themselves with a sale company’s conditions of sale before establishing a line of credit with an auction house. Buying a horse requires a large commitment of time and energy, but with the proper team in place, the learning process doesn’t have to be intimidating.
Spence Kidney, the general manager of Heritage Place, suggests newcomers seek the counsel of experienced professionals
when it comes to understanding the auction environment and the process of selecting and evaluating bloodstock.
“First of all, some people are intimidated by the process, especially people who have never experienced it first-hand,” Kidney related. “They don’t need to be. We try to make our sale a friendly environment that’s fun for everyone. This is where agents and/or trainers can play
an important role for those that haven’t been through the process before. They can take their hand and walk them through the process until they feel comfortable with it.
“New buyers will want to obtain a sale catalog from a sale company, and then they will need to be approved to buy horses,” Kidney added. “It’s a pretty seamless process to apply and get approved. The big thing ahead of time is to get with their trainer and look at horses ahead of the sale, so they can build a list of horses they are interested in targeting.”
Understanding the sale catalog, which devotes a pedigree page to each horse entered
Spence Kidney Russell Harris
in the sale, is the first step. Being able to glean the proper information from the genetic information provided on the catalog page will require a thorough understanding of pedigrees and race records, as well as their influences on the individual being offered for sale.
Secondly, owners and their agent/trainer/ veterinarian should inspect horses on the sales grounds. This presale analysis of traits makes for easy comparisons between horses in the sale and helps buyers determine which horses best meet their criteria. By identifying certain attributes in an attempt to predict physical ability, behavior, and performance,
some of the guesswork is removed from the speculative pursuit
of buying a young
horse at auction.
By identifying certain attributes in an attempt to predict physical ability, behavior, and performance, some of the guesswork is removed from the speculative pursuit of buying a young horse at auction.
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