TDN Writers Room hit the road and talk to Tony Lacy, Chance Timm and Mike Stidham at Keeneland
Ahead of the April Racehorse sale, the writers ventured to Keeneland this week to chat face-to-face with Keeneland’s Vice President of Sales, Tony Lacy and Chance Timm of Grovendale Sales. Coach Michael Stidham was also featured at the TDN Writers’ Room presented by Keeneland. The upcoming sale features several new concepts, including the removal of the requirement that the horses in the sale be present at Keeneland. The sale will also take place on a race day, following the close of the card on Friday, the final day of the meeting.
“I started almost a year ago and the first thing we did was look at everything so far, how do we better serve our customers?” Lacy said, who, along with Timm and Stidham, is the Green Team Guest of the Week. “What is the best way to do things? So at Keeneland, which embodies everything in the industry. It’s a sales company, but it’s also a world-class racetrack. So we decided to combine two activities in one day. In terms of logistics for our team, it was really tough. But everyone knows that it is very important for us to work hard to get the job done. The feedback has been really, really positive. I think people really appreciate that they can go racing, see the Bewitch Stakes, and walk down the hill and an hour later we can sell the horses. “
All sales companies have had to make adjustments due to the pandemic, and one of them has been an increase in online bidding. Again, during Friday’s sale, potential buyers can bid on their computers from the comfort of their homes.
“The pandemic has forced a lot of innovation that could have taken longer to kick in,” Lacy said. “The equine industry is not something that really embraces change really quickly. So we’ve learned from a lot of our customers that they really appreciate being able to bid online. They also need to do their own homework, so transparency of information is extremely important. That’s why we’re trying to be as flexible as we can and trying to find ways to make things convenient. A traditional auction is something that is absolutely not going away. But we had to find a way to modernize it and find a way that better fits the modern way of doing business. “
Timm, who has had a variety of roles in the industry, recently announced that he’s joining forces with James Keogh at Grovendale, a Thoroughbred shipment based in Versailles, Kentucky. The April racehorse sale will mark the first time the newly formed team has sold horses together.
Elsewhere in the show, also sponsored by Coolmore, XBTV, Lane’s Last Farm, Purebred West Point, Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeder and Owner and Legacy Bloodstockwriters Joe Bianca, Bill Finley, and Jon Green discussed Letruska (Super Saver) win in GI Apple Blossom H. and her prospects for another stellar campaign in 2022.
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This story was posted in News is shared and tagged Opportunity Time, Grovendale, Keeneland, April Sale for Keeneland Racehorses, Letruska, Michael Stidham, TDN . Writers’ Office, Tony Lacy.
