Pending sale of Fasig-Tipton renews hope for modern sales pavilion

The announcement that Fasig-Tipton is about to be sold to a company based in Dubai came as a complete surprise to many people—even to some in executive positions with the firm.
Few institutions are as deeply rooted in American soil as the Thoroughbred auctioneering company founded in 1898 by William Fasig and Edward Tipton.

Synergy Investments Ltd., a Dubai-based company headed by Abdulla Al Habbai, reportedly has reached an agreement to purchase Fasig-Tipton, which has been owned since 1991 by a group of shareholders, with New York horseman John Hettinger maintaining the controlling interest.

The deal to transfer Fasig-Tipton’s assets was negotiated by John Ferguson, bloodstock manager for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Dubai Ruler whose Godolphin Racing and Darley breeding operations are major forces—as well as top-tier auction buyers and sellers—worldwide. Al Habbai is said to be a close associate of Sheikh Mohammed.
Fasig-Tipton’s chief operating officer, Boyd Browning, has offered assurances of a “seamless” transition that will allow current management and staff to remain in place.
Financial details will not be made public, according to Browning.

Global issues aside, it’s a small world for people who routinely buy and sell horses at auction in the Mid-Atlantic region. And Fasig-Tipton is at the center of that world.

Its Midlantic division is by far the largest Thoroughbred auctioneering firm in the region, conducting four well-established auctions—topped by its May 2-year-olds in training sale and Eastern Fall Yearling sale in October—at the sales pavilion in Timonium. The cramped, sadly aging, poorly equipped sales pavilion at Timonium.

It’s too soon to begin asking about what may happen here. But having seen images of the spectacular architecture of Dubai, it seems reasonable to wonder if, after years of promises and delays, the company might finally find a way to bring its Mid-Atlantic sales center into the 21st century.

Are you listening, Mr. Al Habbai?