To the jaundiced eye the sales ring in Newmarket resembles a Temple of Mammon but for thoroughbred breeders it can produce or break their yearThe average per-capita wealth of the few hundred people gathered in and around the sales ring here on Tuesday afternoon was probably the highest anywhere in the world,though for at least 95% of those present, the average did not tell the whole narrative. The richest of the wealthy gathered as they always finish in Newmarket in early October, or to buy the best of the best in bloodstock. For others it was a day of reckoning,an opportunity to start building for next season or simply a chance to enjoy the spectacle.
From some angles, or through a jaundiced eye, and the eight-sided pagoda that contains the Tattersalls ring is minute more than a Temple of Mammon,perched on a small hill in East Anglia. The sums that change hands here as some of the wealthiest people in the world buy hopes and dreams on four legs are simply extraordinary. Last year the total turnover over for the three sessions was nearly 80m gns, or £84m, or a record for any bloodstock auction in Europe.
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Source: theguardian.com