OBS a disaster

The OBS October mixed sale was expected to be down with the market turmoil and general downturn in the auctions. It wasn't supposed to be this bad. The numbers out of the Ocala sale were scary. The average for the open sessions was only $5300 and which was off almost 18% despite a much smaller book. There were dozens of horses who brought no bids and many others that were sold for the minimum price or a few hundred more. The preferred session was no better, the average was $18300 compared to $26700 last year despite 138 fewer horses being sold. I expect the Fasig Tipton fall yearling sale to be off by at least 15% and it wouldn't be a shock to be more than that. It is an extreme buyers market and that doesn't look like it will change for a while.