Invitation only: Inglis to restrict attendees at flagship Easter Yearling Sale

Inglis announced on Saturday that next month's Easter Yearling Sale will be conducted on an invitation-only basis, with the sales house attempting to proceed with its flagship auction in the wake of the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis.

This comes as Magic Millions begins its March Yearling Sale at the Gold Coast this morning, with the Bundall sales complex closed to the general public and potential buyers asked to pre-register ahead of arriving at the site.

Both Inglis and Magic Millions have been working around the clock to develop and implement contingency plans as Covid-19 continues to spread throughout the wider community.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced yesterday that all people entering Australia from abroad would have to self-isolate for 14 days. This followed a Council of Australian Governments directive on Friday that all non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled as of Sunday.

The critical phrase, though, is "non-essential" - it is that wording which Inglis managing director Mark Webster hopes will allow the Easter Sale to go ahead in some form on April 7 and 8, with invites a potential crowd management tool.

"It's constantly changing so we can't be exactly clear how that will work out. The government has put out a rule around 500 people maximum," Webster told ANZ Bloodstock News.

"We need to work our way through the definition of that. Is it spectators or buyers who are coming in? Does that include people who are actually paid and working in a controlled environment? The selling of horses for our events, most of the people are outside. They are not in an enclosed space.

"There's a bit to work through but I think we will need to make a difference between professional people who are paid - Inglis people and stable staff, for instance. They are there to do a particular job versus buyers and others who are coming through.

"It also talks about non-essential events to which the 500-limit applies as part of their policies. We need to better understand what they mean by that, but we don't consider ourselves to be non-essential.

"We believe the Australian Easter Sale is essential. It is a trading event, it is not a public gathering. We can control it through an invitation-only basis by knowing who the vendors are, who the buyers are, who the media are in attendance. That is very different to a gathering where there might be a lack of understanding about who is there and controlling that.

"It's one thing to go to a rock concert that might be on again in a month, but it's another thing to be selling a crop of horses that are living creatures that get older by the minute. It forms an essential part of our economy in the bush in terms of the producers and obviously a critical part of our racing in terms of the supply chain.

"Overall, as an industry, we need to make a case that this is an essential event, not a discretionary one that you can just hold in six months' time or not at all.

"If the government has used those words in the first place around non-essential events, they must have deemed which ones would be essential otherwise they wouldn't have used those terms in their definitions. They are all important things for us to work through.

"We do feel that we will be in a position to put on a sale, but how that is conducted is unclear."

There had been suggestions from the wider racing community that Inglis may move to an all-online format for the Easter Sale.

Webster said that Inglis intends to utilise technology to a greater extent than ever before, capitalising on its position at the forefront of innovation, but he is hopeful that it will be a function that goes hand-in-hand with a traditional buying bench as well.

"Technology has to play a big part in it," he continued. "One thing I do know is that Inglis has taken the lead on innovation and technology over the past ten years and we will be using every innovation that we have developed in that period of time for the Easter Sale.

"Perhaps with the limits on physical attendance, we will have an even broader attendance than we've had before with people logging in from around the world.

"There will be a lot more transparency about the horses through the use of video, and we expect more and more participation through online bidding from people around the world. To give you an example, we have 3,500 people that have registered for online bidding. We have a wide audience and it is not as if we are starting from scratch.

"In terms of ticking boxes for buyers, I would think that we are in a position with veterinary reports and people on the ground, we will be able to assess horses and it comes down to preferences, bloodlines, siblings and families that they are interested in. Exactly how that plays out I am not sure."

Webster admitted that the 14-day self-isolation requirements will have an effect on international visitors, with those wanting to attend the two-day sale essentially required to arrive in Australia by the end of the week. However, he believes that many of their regular buyers from across the globe are already in Sydney.

"Those who were planning on flying in later, it will have an impact," he said. "There are internationals who are already here who have stayed on through the sales series and there are other internationals who have people on the ground here.

"There are buying groups that would have one or two people on the ground here anyhow even though the partners or the principals may not be here."

While sales in France, the United States and Hong Kong have been postponed or cancelled, Webster said that he would prefer the Easter Sale - as well as the Chairman's Sale and the Australian Weanling and Broodmare Sale - to go ahead on schedule rather than waiting for the Covid-19 outbreak to die down.

"I don't think it's a realistic option to delay the sale and hold it in the middle of winter when perhaps this pandemic may worsen," he said. "The horses will be getting older by the minute and they need to be sold and be prepared for two-year-old racing. There's certainly time pressures there and we think there's a whole lot of reasons why our event is actually essential.

"Beyond Easter, we have discussed our other sales but we will learn from what happens at Easter. It's going to be an ongoing challenge but we have to keep going.

"The health of the country is obviously critical but so is the economy and the employment of people and the welfare of these horses by ensuring they move on to their new homes to keep the economy of the racing and breeding industry going. It's a big employer.

"All the senior management team have been engaging with clients directly, vendors and buyers. There have been messages and calls non-stop.

"The reassuring thing is, everyone wants it to work, whether they are buyers or vendors. They want to get this done in a safe manner complying with whatever rules are in place but also conscious of the fact that we need to keep doing business.

"We can't all just stop and let the economy stop or we've got bigger problems than the coronavirus. We need to work in a balanced manner to get this done in a safe and controlled manner which is why I think our event doesn't necessarily fit the definition of a general public gathering."

Thoroughbred Breeders Australia president Basil Nolan welcomed the Inglis approach, saying that the Inglis Easter Sale was crucial to Australia's racing and breeding ecosystem.

"It is imperative to the Australian thoroughbred industry that this sale goes ahead as planned," Nolan said. "Millions of dollars have been invested in breeding and preparing these horses for the global market. It is essential that the sale proceeds, albeit with the assistance of technology as well."

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Credit: ANZ Bloodstock Staff