Posts Tagged ‘breeders’ cup stakes supplements’
Thursday, April 2nd, 2009
By Ray Paulick
March 11, 2009: Fasig-Tipton cancels its fall yearling sale, scheduled to begin Oct. 26.
April 1, 2009: Fasig-Tipton reinstates the fall yearling sale.
What they said then: “A sale should be viable for consignors, buyers and lastly for the sales company. The feedback we are getting from our constituents indicated this was not the case of the October yearling sale. This was also the majority position at our advisory board meeting in early March.” – Dan Pride, Fasig-Tipton’s chief operating officer.
What they are saying now: “Responding to input from several October consignors and buyers, Fasig-Tipton has reinstated its Kentucky fall yearling sale, which will be held at Newtown Paddocks, Lexington, on Oct. 26, 27 and 28.” – Fasig-Tipton press release
“We certainly value the feedback that our customers shared with us. One of the main goals of the company will always be to listen and react to what is important for our customers.” – Fasig-Tipton chairman Walt Robertson.
So what happened in the three weeks between the time the sale was cancelled because “constituents” said it was not viable and it was reinstated because of feedback from buyers and consignors? Who were those “constituents” polled about the original decision to cancel?
Fasig-Tipton, under its new ownership and a retooled management team (the addition of Dan Pride is the main difference), wants to focus on the auctions that bring in the most money: the 2-year-olds in training sale held recently at Calder, the Saratoga August yearling sale, and the November mixed sale. The Dubai-based owners are investing significant money on capital improvements and marketing to that end. However, the company cannot risk alienating some of the bread-and-butter consignors who have been loyal to the July and October Kentucky yearling sales, which may not be as glamorous or profitable but are an important marketplace for breeders.
By cancelling the October sale, Fasig-Tipton was shooing breeders of more than 1,000 horses over to the other side of town to the tail end of Keeneland’s September yearling sale or forcing them to incur shipping expenses by offering them at the Fasig-Tipton Eastern fall sale in Maryland. Neither was a positive public relations outcome for Fasig-Tipton.
The flawed decision sounded awfully similar to what happened in December when the Breeders’ Cup board outraged many breeders with a decision to cut out the stakes supplements that have been part of the Breeders’ Cup program from the outset. That decision was reversed in a matter of days. This one took a few weeks for the complaints to percolate high enough to get the attention of Fasig-Tipton’s management team. Both decisions smacked of elitism, suggesting not enough attention was paid to the grass roots or “blue collar” breeders who don’t get elected to boards of directors. Both reversals were justified and proper.
Lessons learned.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: breeders' cup stakes supplements, Dan Pride, fasig-tipton, fasig-tipton calder sale of 2-year-olds in training, fasig-tipton fall yearling sale, fasig-tipton october yearling sale, Keeneland, newtown paddocks, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, saratoga, walt robertson, yearling sales
Posted in Keeneland, Thoroughbred Auctions, fasig-tipton | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, January 6th, 2009
By Ray Paulick
B. Wayne Hughes has stepped down from the Breeders’ Cup board of directors less than three weeks after the board was involved in the controversial decision to suspend and later reinstate the 2009 stakes supplement program.
A self-made billionaire who founded and chairs Public Storage company, Hughes, 75, is a prominent West Coast-based Thoroughbred owner and breeder and the owner of Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky. Hughes brought proven business skills and a strong-willed personality to the Breeders’ Cup board upon his election in January 2006, when Breeders’ Cup governance changed from a self-perpetuating board to one more democratically chosen. After joining the board, Hughes spent considerable time learning the financials and management of the Breeders’ Cup, and not long thereafter there were a number of high-level departures, including the retirements of chief financial officer Ferguson Taylor and president D.G. Van Clief Jr. It isn’t clear whether or not Hughes was the catalyst for those changes.
According to sources, however, Hughes was the most vocal opponent to the original 2009 budget presented to the board by current president Greg Avioli. That budget, with shortfalls on the revenue side caused by projected declines from stallion and foal nominations, called for an operating deficit despite a scaled-down stakes supplement program. The board asked Avioli to go back to the drawing board, and he returned with a balanced budget that included major cuts in marketing expenses and suspension of the 2009 stakes supplements.
That budget was approved unanimously by the board, but the outcry among Breeders’ Cup nominators led to a reversal within a week to reinstate the stakes supplements — at least for 2009 – using some of the $29 million in cash reserves held by the Breeders’ Cup to make up for the shortfall. Word began to circulate throughout the industry days later that Hughes had resigned from the board, though his resignation was not confirmed until today.
"Since I began serving on the Breeders’ Cup Board in 2006, we have undergone a series of changes and innovations, and I am proud to have played a role in helping chart a new course for the organization," said Hughes in a press release.
"We will miss Wayne’s passion for our industry, his business acumen and candor, and we are very grateful for his service to the Breeders’ Cup," said Breeders’ Cup chairman Bill Farish.
The Breeders’ Cup board will choose a replacement for Hughes from the larger board of members and trustees on Jan. 20. Hughes’ term expires in June.
Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report
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Tags: b. wayne hughes, Bill Farish, Breeders' Cup, Breeders' Cup board of directors, breeders' cup cash reserves, breeders' cup stakes supplements, D.G. Van Clief, ferguson taylor, Greg Avioli, Paulick Report, Ray Paulick, spendthrift farm, William S. Farish Jr.
Posted in Breeders' Cup, Industry Organizations, People | 5 Comments »
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