F-T Enhances Saratoga Sale Broadcast

There's nothing new about streaming a horse sale on-line. Everybody does it. But for the upcoming two-day Saratoga Sale, which kicks off Aug. 8, Fasig-Tipton is prepared to offer a streaming broadcast unlike anything ever seen at a North American horse sale.

Fasig-Tipton management realized that the typical steaming presentation for its sales didn't really capture the true essence of the Saratoga Sale, which is as much an event as it is sale. In the past, the cameras would show the horse in the ring, the auctioneer and the announcer and the board listing the price, and, really nothing else.

“This sale is so unique,” said Max Hodge Fasig-Tipton Vice President of Client Services. “If you're sitting at home and just see a horse in the ring, you don't get the full picture of what is going on, you don't realize that this place is jam packed with people, that everyone is dressed up and enjoying themselves. This is not just a sale, it's an event, a unique experience.”

In order to help tell that story, Fasig-Tipton will work with the crew from the Horse Racing Radio Network, which has done its own streaming and radio broadcasts of the sale in the past. With everything shot in HD, the HRRN/Fasig-Tipton team will attempt to cover every aspect of the sale. With HRRN's Acacia Courtney headlining the coverage, Fasig-Tipton's stream will include not just shots that capture the festive atmosphere of the sale but interviews with the key buyers and sellers.

“For this year at Saratoga, we're going to enhance everything that we've always done” Hodge said. “We're going to have on-air talent and work with the team from HRRN. We will work with them and incorporate on-air interviews with key participants. Right after someone has a horse go through the ring, we'll take bits and pieces of their radio show and provide our viewers with interviews with key players in the game. We'll have a camera man following Acacia throughout the night as she interviews people.

“We're also adding several different cameras, including roving cameras. For people who are not there it is hard to get a feeling of the atmosphere and the excitement at the sale. It is so much different than any other auction in North America. It's an event. This gives us the ability to show people in the dining area, the bar area and the massive crowds. We'll be able to show the sale and hopefully capture some of the excitement.”

Most of the major players in the industry will be at the sale and won't be in need of the video stream. But Hodge said there are many people who will not be in Saratoga who will benefit from the enhanced coverage, be they buyers or sellers that can't make it to the sale or just fans.

“For a typical sale, we have thousands following us online,” he said. “A lot of times there are potential bidders watching and following along online, but there are also just causal fans. You'll get a lot of sellers that couldn't make the trip and own a piece of or all of the horse going through ring. We're always going to provide a split screen, so we'll never switch entirely away from horse in ring for the hardcore sales people. But we're also going to show so many other aspects of the sale, so that the people at home have a better idea of what it really encompasses. For instance, in advance, we're going to shoot as many horses as we can so when one of them does sell well and we're interviewing someone we can actually show some barn footage of the horse so people can see what the buyer saw and why they thought so highly of the horse.”

No other North American sale has gone to anywhere near the lengths that Fasig-Tipoton will for the Saratoga Sale, but much of the enhanced coverage will be similar to what New Zealand Bloodstock has done for its premier sales. The enhanced coverage will not be available for the Aug. 13-14 New York Bred Yearling Sale, but may eventually become a permanent part of Fasig-Tipton's online presentation.

“I think we'll look at analytics post sale and get feedback from everybody, both consignors and buyers and if it is well received this is definitely something we'll consider for our future select sales,” Hodge said.

For The Saratoga Sale Fasig-Tipton will also extend its reach into social media by involving itself with Snapchat, which has about 100 million active users.

“Saratoga isn't just a sale, but also a major social event,” said Fasig-Tipton Recruiting Manager and Account Executive Evan Ferraro. “Snapchat is all about capturing the moment, so we felt it would be a great way for people to share their Saratoga Sale experience, as well as promote the sale and the events around it.”

Fasig-Tipton has created a snapchat account called fasigtiptonco. Snapchat users can follow the sale and see photos and videos that will be posted on sales nights, in the show days leading up to the sale, as well as around the racetrack during Fasig-Tipton's Festival of Racing over Whitney weekend.

To spice things up even further, Fasig-Tipton's marketing agency has also created two “geofilters” for the weekend. Anyone that takes a snap on the Saratoga sales grounds beginning this Saturday through the Tuesday night of the sale can add the “The Saratoga Sale” image over their snap. For the Festival of Racing this Saturday and Sunday, they've also created a geofilter that any user in the backyard or the grandstand can lay over a snap they take at the races.