Most thoroughbreds in Britain, Ireland and France change hands at a handful of auction houses. Here are the main ones, the sales they hold, and what to look for in a pedigree at each kind of sale.
Other important sales include BBAG in Baden-Baden, Germany, and in America, Keeneland and Fasig-Tipton. Each sales company publishes its own catalogues and conditions of sale on its website. HorseBytes is independent and not connected with any of them.
A yearling has no form, so the pedigree is the evidence. Look hardest at the class of the family and the distances it won over.
Two-year-olds that have already shown some speed. The family's winning distances help tell an early sprinter from one that will want time and a trip.
The horse has a record of its own. The pedigree tells you whether it may find more over a longer or shorter trip than it has run over.
For a foal or a mare, the dam's record as a broodmare and the black type close up in the family carry most weight.
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