Barretts January Sale Wednesday

The Barretts January Mixed Sale, which this year will include a stallion season auction to benefit the victims of the San Luis Rey Downs fire, will be held Wednesday at the Hinds Pavilion at Fairplex in Pomona, California. With breeding stock, 2-year-olds, horses of racing age and yearlings on offer, bidding is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. PT.
In the wake of the Dec. 7 wildfire that claimed the lives of 46 horses and displaced backstretch workers at San Luis Rey Downs, Barretts made the decision to use its January sale to help raise funds for the victims.
“The fires were so shocking and terrible and we decided to find things that we could do to help,” said Barretts General Manager Kim Lloyd. “With the January sale coming up, we decided we would donate 10% of our proceeds and we would try to have a silent auction with stallion seasons and see what we could raise to benefit the victims. It really grew quickly and we are grateful to all the people who chipped in and donated seasons. Everybody stepped up and hopefully we’ll raise some money to make a difference for those people.”
Recently retired graded stakes winners Shaman Ghost and Danzing Candy are among the stallions who will have 2018 no-guarantee seasons auctioned off Wednesday. Also available will be seasons to Can the Man, Daddy Nose Best, Desert Code, Metaboss, Smiling Tiger, Stanford and Stay Thirsty. There will also be a silent auction of sporting art.
The seasons auction will be held at the completion of the breeding stock offerings at the mixed sale. Barretts will be donating 10% of its commissions from the sale to the California Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Foundation for victims of the fire as needed, with any remaining balance to be retained by CTHF for ongoing medical needs of all backstretch workers. All proceeds from the stallion seasons auction will also go to the CTHF.
Cautious Giant (Giant’s Causeway) was the top-priced offering at last year’s January sale, bringing a final bid of $57,000. In all, 125 horses sold at last year’s auction for a total of $995,800. The average was $7,966 and the median was $3,700.
“The main thing [with the January sale] is to provide an opportunity for our local people to continue on with the business for the rest of the year,” Lloyd said. “Breeders can sell some horses and help with their stud fees and other expenses to kick off the year. It’s a good way to move horses and raise some money for people to help them continue with their business. It’s turned into a very useful sale for our California people. And there are always horses who come out of this sale who end up being something you recognize later on at the races. It’s a useful sale and we looking forward to moving a lot of horses.”