Auctioneer

A lawsuit filed in a Kentucky court Wednesday over a disputed Standardbred auction figures to be closely watched by the Thoroughbred industry because of allegations that a Lexington Selected Yearling Sales Company (LSYS) auctioneer belatedly realized he had dropped the hammer on a $15,000 sale without respecting a $45,000 reserve price that should have been in effect. According to the civil complaint initiated by the New Jersey-based Val D'Or Farms, which thought it had rightfully purchased the filly, named Philly's Sting, for $15,000 via proxy bid, the auctioneer purportedly tried...

TIMONIUM, MD - Camille Booker, who first made her presence known in the Thoroughbred industry as a bidspotter at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic May sale in 2023, became the first woman to auctioneer for the sales company when she took to the rostrum Tuesday at the Midlantic Fall Yearlings Sale in Timonium. While it may have been a first for Fasig-Tipton, it was far from a first sale for Booker, a third-generation auctioneer from Washington. "It was fun. It was great," Booker said in between stints on the stand Tuesday. "I...

Senior auctioneer Ollie Fowlston has rejoined Tattersalls and will return to the rostrum at Park Paddocks for the Craven Breeze-up Sale, which takes place from April 14-16. Fowlston joined Tattersalls in 1998 and worked for the company for 25 years, before leaving to become managing director of Dullingham Park in 2023. An auctioneer since 1999, Fowlston was previously a senior member of the bloodstock team and played a key role in the development of the Sceptre Sessions of the Tattersalls December Mares Sale. His return will also see him undertake...

Renowned auctioneer Peter Heagney has died, Inglis reported in a statement on X on Sunday. Heagney started his career selling livestock with Dalgety's in South Australia and went on to travel the world as a freelance auctioneer until becoming a full-time Inglis employee in 1994. Memorably, Heagney was the one with the gavel when the great Black Caviar (Aus) (Bel Esprit {Aus}) sold for A$210,000 at the 2008 Inglis Melbourne Premier Yearling Sale. He retired from Inglis in 2019. "It is with great sadness we confirm the passing of our...

Goffs has paid tribute to its former managing director Jonathan Irwin, one of the most influential people in the history of the sales house, who died aged 82 on Sunday. Irwin joined Goffs in 1975 and oversaw the construction of the world's first purpose-built bloodstock sales complex in Kill, County Kildare. He was also appointed CEO of the Dublin International Sports Council (DISC) in 1993 and established the Jack and Jill Foundation along with his wife Mary Ann after the birth of their son Jack. Since 1997, the foundation has...

Steve Dance, a senior member of Fasig-Tipton's auction team for five decades, passed away suddenly on Tuesday morning at his home in Jarrettsville, MD, which he shared with his wife Nancy. He was in his 78th year and it was suspected he suffered a massive heart attack. Steve worked until the last day of his life and the many sellers and buyers at Fasig-Tipton's Midlantic 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale, just a week ago in Timonium, would have seen him plying his lifelong trade on the auction stand in his beloved...