Oli Bell talks to Tattersalls Marketing Director Jimmy George about the impact of the shutdown on their plans and business.
Jimmy George on changes to the sales structure...
"As it stands at the moment, the changes we’ve made to our forthcoming sales schedule are the Tattersalls Ascot Breeze Up Sale, scheduled to take place Tuesday March 31 - Wednesday April 1, and the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up, scheduled to take place April 13-15, have both been postponed and will be amalgamated into a new combined fixture in Newmarket taking place Wednesday April 29 to Friday May 1.
"Those are just about the dates when the Tattersalls Guineas Breeze Up and Horses in Training Sale was scheduled and these will be postponed until Wednesday May 27-Friday May 29.
"When we made that announcement on March 17, the key element was the line we included that all of the above changes will be kept under constant review. Bearing in mind the very changing world we’re living in now; that remains the case.
"Just like everyone else, we’re having to respond to events that are outside our control and that in some instances have overtaken decisions that already been made.
"To the best of our ability we are trying to carry on as well as we possibly can, mindful at all times of the joint responsibility of balancing the needs of our clients and the very serious public health issues. They are the overriding concerns surrounding all of us.
"If we are forced to make further changes to sale schedules we will keep everyone informed as comprehensive and quickly as we possibly can.
"If racing were to start behind closed doors that may influence decisions in the wider industry as well but that’s where we are at the moment.
"The office in Newmarket is closed and we’re all working from home and available on mobiles and email, endeavouring to keep the show on the road as best we can to minimise disruption.
"We usually begin our yearling inspections for the autumn sales in April and we will be looking at how best to undertake those in the coming weeks to minimise any possible disruption."
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