Dublin-born Geoffrey Russell joined Keeneland in1996 and, five years later, was named director of sales.
In the years that
followeed, he has
guided Keenelandthrough exponential
growth and, overthe past 12months, has helped
navigate theauction housethrough troubled
economic times.
On Thursday, theaffable Irishman sat
down with theTDN=s Lucas
Anne Eberhardt/Keeneland photo
Marquardt todiscuss what Keeneland has done to promote
September, the new Kee-Bid program, and some of his
favorite restaurants in the Lexington area.
The economy crashed almost exactly a year ago,
halfway through the September Sale. Given the current
economic climate, what are your goals and hopes forthis year=s renewal of September?
Our goal is that it will be a successful sale, thatconsignors will get their horses sold and buyers will
come and be successful in bidding on the next futurechampions. The world is a totally different place thanlast year, but, being an optimist, I think we have a goodsale ahead of us.
What are some of the things Keeneland has done tofacilitate selling at September?

It=s a mixed bag. I think many of our regulars will beback here, and there will be some who won=t be back.
But we=ve had a great response and look forward towelcoming everybody back.
Some of the other things we=ve done is to work with
the NTRA to distribute information to buyers to try andmake sure everyone is aware of the stimulus package
offered in the farm bill, which accelerates thedepreciation of horses and gives greater tax benefits. It
has a huge affect on domestic buyers. It expires thisyear, and it's a huge opportunity for them.
(Click here to read Tad Davis=s TDN article regarding thisissue)

Could you explain Keeneland=s new Kee-Bid program?
Well, it=s one of the new services we are unveilingthis year. We are hoping it will help consignors should ahorse [fail to meet its reserve]. It allows a buyer tomake an offer on a horse through our website, at which
point a notice will be sent both to Keeneland and to theconsignor to let us know there is interest in the horse.
Then we=ll try to get the buyer and the consignor
together to see if we can get a sale done. At that point,
they=ll have to go through the normal channels of oursales accounting office. As you know, we do atremendous amount of RNAs-to-sales every year, andcertain consignors have a network and work very hardto get their RNAs sold. We are hoping this will spreadthe net a little further, and help the smaller consignors
who may not have the ability to appoint one person to
try and sell horses that RNA=d.
Do you have to have credit established to use the KeeBid system?
No, because it=s not an auction system. You submit abid, at which point Keeneland and the consignor aresent a notice. Then everything is done face-to-face, orover the phone. All we=re trying to do is put buyer andseller together.
What=s the response been from consignors thus far?

We have continued our normal recruitment of buyers,both domestically and internationally. It=s not justsomething we do within 60 days or 30 days of a sale,it=s an ongoing, year-round activity for Keeneland. We
have actively been traveling the globe since January
and criss-crossing America this year to talk to people
and encourage them to come to September, and to all
our sales. The most important thing is that ourgraduates have been successful, not just here in North
America, but worldwide. We actually just came backfrom Russia, where our graduates had a very good
weekend in what was their Breeders= Cup. We hope thesuccess of those graduates will bring the buyers back.
In your view, how has the international response been?
Do you think we=ll see fewer international buyers ormore, because of the value to be had?

The consignors love it. Anything you do to help theconsignor in commerce, they=re all for.
Will the sales sheets be changed to reflect the sale ofpreviously RNA=d horses?
No, we=ll only report the ring prices.
You had talked about the problems with supply anddemand in the Thoroughbred market well before lastSeptember. How much of the current drop in prices has
to do with the financial markets, and how much withan over-supply of horses?

Q&A cont.

I think a lot of factors come into it. I think we=retalking about the surplus of horses--the overproductionof horses--and I think we=re starting to see a change inthat in the number of mares bred this year. That=ll bereflected both at the November Sale and in future sales.
And the financial markets clearly had an impact,because people buy horses with discretionary income.
It=s a combination of both.
Unfortunately, we ended up with a perfect storm. I
think people expected a correction in the Thoroughbred
market because of the oversupply of horses. Some ofus expected it to happen in 2007, but because of theweak dollar we overcame that. Then in 2008, we werehit by both the collapse of the financial markets andoversupply. But the turnaround since last September inthe macro-world has been phenomenal. I think there=san air of confidence out there we haven=t seen--sixmonths ago people were all down, and now you=reseeing a little confidence back in the general economy
and in the Thoroughbred economy.
Last question. What's one non-horse-related thing all
visitors to Lexington should do?
I would encourage visitors to enjoy our extensive andvaried dining establishments here in Lexington. Dudley=s
is probably the cornerstone of the Thoroughbredindustry. People should go and enjoy Dudley=s in its
current location, as they will be moving in December.
They=re moving up to West Short St., which isn=t allthat far away. Dudley=s has been in Lexington nearly as
long as I have, and I have enjoyed eating and drinking
there, and Debbie Long=s hospitality. I think we=ll all
miss the old schoolhouse, but we look forward tocelebrating her new venture once it opens up later thisyear.