Carol Godette

On SPOT.This

FASIG-TIPTON

WRITTEN BY CAROL GODETTE | PHOTOS PROVIDED

The original Fasig-Tipton Sales Pavilion was an open-air pavilion with folding chairs. It was located to the west of today’s enclosed Sales ring.

From the Beatrice Sweeney postcard collection

From the Beatrice Sweeney postcard collection

How could a facility that basically operates five days a year be a vibrant and vital part of our community's history? 153 George Street is arguably the least used spot in Saratoga Springs, certainly for a place so integral to the city. Often called "The Crown Jewel" of the Fasig-Tipton Company Yearling Sales, the gleaming facility on George Street is open just two weeks a year. The barns, outdoor paddock where horses are paraded for inspection and the air-conditioned horseshoe-shaped auction Pavilion are only fully used four nights each August and one mid-October day each year. Yet during the four days of the yearling sales held each mid-August, more money passes through our community than at any other time. Top breeders worldwide bring their fillies and colts to the sales, where trainers and owners bid on them at jaw-dropping prices. Last year, Saratoga's yearling sales totaled almost 74 million dollars. The sales draw international visitors who love staying in our homes and hotels, and wine and dine in our many fine restaurants. The pristine grounds are closed, yet meticulously cared for by plant manager Manuel Hernandez for the rest of the year. So what came before "On This Spot"? Maps of Saratoga in the 1830s show this area of town as rural, undeveloped land. In the mid-1800s, Caleb Mitchell, three-time village president, owned the property where today's sales ring sits. Mitchell owned 75 percent of the land north of Union Avenue to Phila Street. According to the February 10, 1917 edition of the Saratogian, "FasigTipton Vice President D. Eugene Blankenhorn bought a lot on George Street, on which the sales ring will be erected, from Cale Mitchell." Formed in 1898 by William B. Fasig and Edward A. Tipton, Fasig-Tipton Co. is North America's oldest Thoroughbred auction company. After William Fasig died in 1903, Tipton took on Enoch James Tranter as his partner. The Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga sale has roots that stretch back to 1918 when Fasig-Tipton allied with some of the top Kentucky breeders to sell their yearlings during the race meet in upstate New York. In the second year of the sales, Samuel D. Riddle paid $5000 for a colt he named "Man Of War." The big red horse went on to win nearly $250,000 before he was retired to stud in 1921. The yearling sales were viewed by W.C. Whitney, the man responsible for saving our historic racetrack in 1901, as "an experiment which could greatly add to the attractiveness of the Saratoga meetings" An article in the Daily Racing Form from 1917 says,"There is nothing to do of mornings except drink water, and as water drinking sometimes becomes monotonous, Mr. Whitney believes that all Saratoga would turn out to attend yearling sales." Whitney was correct. In a 2022 interview, Terence Collier, a former marketing director and auctioneer said, "Everyone in the horse world is in Saratoga." Asked to explain Saratoga's position as the "Tiffany of Horse Sales," Collier adds, "When asked 'Why do you rob banks?' a criminal says, "Because that's where the money is." In other words, all the best horses are here, so everyone in the horse world follows. In the 1920s, the auction format was much different from today. During most of the race meet, the sales were conducted every weeknight following that day's races. Also different was that entire consignments would go to the ring in a block. The large consignors would often have their own night in the auction pavilion, being the only stable represented that evening. The dress code was very formal. The auction staff all sported white dinner jacket tuxedos.

Some things remain the same today. For one, hip numbers designate each unnamed horse. Top prices are paid for the horses with the best bloodlines. Handlers bring the horse into the ring, and "spotters," who are educated in the language of the auction, stand in the aisles interpreting bids, which are often signaled by a nod, a flick of a finger, or a raised pencil. The horses are led out of the auction ring and the purchaser signs the sales slip agreeing to pay 25% of the price before leaving the grounds. In the early 60s, my family lived on Mitchell Street. The sales pavilion was an open-air structure a few hundred yards from my back bedroom window. Wooden folding chairs lined the barnlike pavilion, and electric fans provided cooling air. Onlookers could easily peer in and observe the crowd and the auction. I looked forward to the first week of August. Excitement mounted as long trailers filled with yearlings pulled into the lot across the street from our side yard. Once the neighing yearlings were loaded into the green stables of Fasig-Tipton, it was as if the circus had come to town. I had a front-row seat to the best show in town! Where else could an eight-year-old visit and even pet such magnificent creatures up close? Humphrey S. Finney's biography says, "When I got my first glimpse of a Thoroughbred, I decided here was nature's most handsome gift to man."

In pre-computer days, lineage signs on each stable were hand painted in a 24 hour a day operation. Postcard from the Beatrice Sweeney postcard collection.

Prospective horse buyers survey the barns of Fasig-Tipton. This 1966 postcard from the Beatrice Sweeney collection says, “In 1966 two hundred thirty-seven yearlings were sold for $4,629,700, a world record average of $19,535.”

I couldn't agree more. No one stopped my neighborhood friend Lynne and me from entering the grounds. We'd survey the barns every afternoon. The top half of the stable was open, allowing me to look deep into the eyes of these magnificent creatures that towered over me. I wasn't assessing the pedigrees of animals that cost more than my house. Instead, I admired them like fine art in a museum. I always preferred chestnut fillies with a unique white marking on the nose. Where else could we see exotic cars and glamourous stars up close? Socialite and horsewoman Liz Whitney Tibbett owned a Rolls-Royce, a car like none I'd ever seen. She parked it outside my bedroom window in the empty lot owned by Mr. Henning, who made a lot of money parking cars for the races and sales. On one memorable occasion, Kitty Carlisle, known to me as a star on "To Tell the Truth," sat a few feet away in the open-air amphitheater. Each sultry August evening, through my bedroom window screen, the distinctive voice of the horse sales auctioneer, Laddie Dance, floated into my room. The rhythm and tempo of his singsong chant lulled me to sleep. Occasionally he would pause to remind his audience of the merits of a particular colt or filly, only to resume again with more confidence, building my bedtime story to a climax and ending with the pounding of a wooden hammer. As the sales continued to grow in popularity and the quality of horses and their prices increased, Humphrey S. Finney, president of FasigTipton, recognized the need for a larger, air-conditioned facility. Architect James G. McCulloh designed a horseshoe-shaped structure that seated 700 people on the main floor and 300 people on the balcony floor. James Kettlewell's Architectural History of Saratoga Springs says, "The design is a dramatic instance of the austere simplicity that characterized the Modern style."

After some pushback from neighbors, concerned the new pavilion would obstruct their "sight line," Cozzolino Construction Company of Albany built the "state of the art" $400,000 pavilion. The much-needed modern facility opened for the 48th annual yearling sale in August 1968. For the next forty years, a few minor changes occurred. In 1987 the Spuyten Duyvil bar at 157 George Street closed. The Fasig-Tipton property bordered this wellknown bar on three sides. Opened in 1947 by Cotton Club dancer Virginia Wheeler, the bar was so full of life and people that it drew horse bidders away from the auction. Prizewinning author Philip Roth claimed it as "his favorite An aerial view of the original layout of Fasig-Tipton. Note the location of the open-air watering hole." pavilion and the empty field where today’s Humphrey S. Finney Pavilion stands. The Spuyten Duyvil Bar is directly across from Case Street. Photo courtesy of Fasig-Tipton. Alfred Vanderbilt, Fred Astaire, and Andy Warhol sipped drinks on the unpretentious patio, validating the Saratogian's ad - "Where the elite meet." Opened seasonally only, their customers were primarily tourists rather than locals. Once the racing set started favoring Virginia's garden bar area instead of remaining at the sales to hear Laddie Dancer's voice announcing the next hip number, Fasig-Tipton decided to intervene. They offered to install closed-circuit monitors free of charge in Virginia's garden area and piano bar space. Carole Ione, Virginia's granddaughter, describes sales week at Spuyten Duyvil as "what happens when Euphoria meets Bedlam." In 1987, after operating Spuyten Duyvil for four decades, Virginia decided to close her beloved restaurant and bar. Fasig Tipton purchased the property. Unfortunately, it was in disrepair and had to be torn down. Today it is hard to imagine the house ever being there. A significant change occurred when Synergy Investments Ltd, a Dubai-based company, purchased Fasig-Tipton in 2008. As a result, they made countless improvements: a timber-framed walking ring, new restrooms, an improved sound system, and The new sales Pavilion after it opened in 1968 was dedicated to longtime employee Humphrey S. Finney snack, restaurant, and bar areas, all within the existing grounds. In 2021, Fasig-Tipton celebrated its hundredth year of sales. (There was an interruption during World War II and again during the Covid pandemic in 2020.) Each night about 2000 people from all walks of life gather on the sales grounds. Some describe it as "the best cocktail party you'll ever go to." It's a fashion show. It's glitz. It's glamour. You have to have this experience at least once if you've never been. This year the Saratoga Sales are on August 8 and 9th, and the New York Bred Sales are on August 14 and 15th. My favorite time to come is the week before the sale when the grounds are open and Mazzone Catering has its pop-up restaurant. The white linen tablecloths are set, and you can get the best lobster roll this side of Maine. Then, as you sit and have lunch with friends, you see the immaculate grounds maintained year-round by Manny and his staff. "Nature's most handsome gift to man" are paraded in front of you. It's one of my favorite things about summer here.

Map showing original ownership of land

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