Postponed Osarus Breeze-Up Sale to go online and be broadcast live

The Osarus Breeze-Up Sale, originally scheduled to take place at La Teste racecourse in France on April 8 and 9, is the first major European thoroughbred sale to move to an online-only format in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

The cancellation of a sale that could be attended in person, to be replaced by an auction broadcast live by France-Sire, comes as the industry scrambles to make alternative arrangements for breeze-ups that were supposed to take place this spring but cannot due to government-enforced lockdowns to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Goffs and Arqana announced last week that they were merging their breeze-up sales and moving them to Ireland in late June, although they plan for bidders to still be able to attend the breeze and the auction while observing any social distancing rules, with online bidding facilities running alongside the event.

No date has been confirmed for the reformatted Osarus Breeze-Up Sale, although the company said it is contingent on the resumption of racing in France.

The aim, it stated, is for the sale to take place at some point between the third week in May and the first week in June.

Osarus has stipulated that all prospective buyers must be pre-registered at least three days before the sale and have credit approval pre-authorised. They will then be able to bid online or by telephone via an approved Osarus staff member.

The auctioneer will be present on the rostrum to sell each lot.

Breezes, photographs and vet files will be available on the Osarus website at osarus.com approximately ten days before the sale.

Further details will be announced by the sale company in the coming weeks.

Watch last year's live Osarus Breeze-Up:

Read our Life in Lockdown Q&As with industry figures

Tim Lane: 'Working with horses does you the world of good in these times'

Jerry Horan: 'My sister butchered my haircut. I think it was payback'

Violet Hesketh and Mimi Wadham: 'Social distancing isn't hard - just lonely!'

Henry Beeby: 'Nick Nugent and I have entered a beard growing competition'

Charles O'Neill: 'ITM will be ready to go when the markets open up again'

Freddy Powell: 'We're improving our online sale platform in case it's needed'

Bumble Mitchell: 'Online sales could be tricky for outlying studs like mine'

David Stack: 'I had to give a garda a lesson about the birds and the bees'

Colm Sharkey: 'I've been torturing myself trying to sort out my golf swing'

Rachael Gowland: 'I didn't realise how much I loved racing until I couldn't go'

Sam Hoskins: 'I've been listening to endless Cold War podcasts on my tractor'

Niamh Spiller: 'Video calls are very important to keep everyone motivated'

Jamie Lloyd: 'Staff have had all their own gear labelled, even wheelbarrows'

Micheál Orlandi: 'The stallions are flying and that gives me great hope'

Richard Venn: 'The French are in a good position to get back racing sooner'

Tim Kent: 'It's difficult to plan when we don't know when racing will resume'

Russell Ferris: 'Weatherbys had contingency plans that we activated at once'

Grant and Tom Pritchard-Gordon: 'Inglis Easter has kept us busy since January'

Peter Hockenhull: 'The social side of meeting and chatting to breeders is gone'

Polly Bonnor: 'We've fulfilled every feed order, including all our exports'

Richard Lancaster: 'We're fortunate that some Shadwell staff live on site'