‘We feel ready.’ How Keeneland is preparing for September sale amid a pandemic.
Shannon Arvin has succeeded Bill Thomason as president and CEO of Keeneland. She makes the transition from partner with Stoll Keenon Ogden where she has served as Keeneland corporate counsel, and as Secretary and Advisory Member of Keeneland’s Board of Directors. Arvin has deep roots with Lexington’s iconic racetrack: Her grandfather, W.T. “Bish” Bishop was the first General Manager of Keeneland when the track opened in 1936. Her father, the late William T. “Buddy” Bishop III, grew up at Keeneland, living in an apartment next to the Clubhouse. Tom Martin talked with her for WEKU’s Eastern Standard about the task of hosting the September Sale under pandemic conditions. Her interview can be heard online at esweku.org.
Martin: How has it been to step into an already complex leadership role in the very midst of a global pandemic?
Arvin: Well, it’s been interesting, I’ll say that. We’ve learned that one of our favorite words is currently because it really is an ever changing situation. But, I think it’s just a continuation of what we need to do in today’s world and that’s taking the facts as we have them and assessing them and using calmness and logic to come up with the best approach possible given the facts.
And there have been some silver linings and we’ll continue to be, things will look different, but we’ll get through it.
Martin: We’ll talk more in a moment about how the pandemic is influencing things at Keeneland such as the upcoming September sale. But, first, another point of significance, you are the first woman in what has traditionally been a male dominated industry to lead Keeneland. And, I say that’s significant, I wonder if you do and does it signal to women in the horse industry that things are changing?
Arvin: It is not lost on me that I am the first female, and I’m proud of that and I’m excited about that. And I hope that it gives encouragement to other females in this industry and others that really it’s just a matter of doing the best you can and putting your best foot forward day after day. And hard work really does pay off and it’s not perfect and pretty every day. But, just that perseverance I think is really important.
Martin: Perseverance is a good word for this next question. Let’s talk about what’s on your plate. Keeneland’s 77th annual yearling sale coming up on Sept. 13 running through the 25th, recognized as the Thoroughbred industry’s most important sale. And, if that wasn’t pressure enough, it’s going to happen in a time of enormous uncertainty brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. How will you manage this, so that it’s both successful and safe for consigners and buyers and everybody who has to be there?
Arvin: Safety is paramount and Keeneland is known in this community and it’s earned its reputation for being a very responsible company. We take very seriously our obligation to ensure that the activities we have out here are as safe as possible for our participants, for our fans, for our horsemen, for the people working out here.
So, we have worked really hard to put in place protocols that will make this as safe as possible. And we’ve also put in place mechanisms where people who can’t physically be on the sales ground, it’s either because they’re not comfortable or they can’t travel or whatever their circumstances may be are able to participate remotely.
So, we have remote bidding set up, so they can bid online, watch the sales, follow the sales online and bid online. And we also have telephone bidding set up, so that we’re able to have somebody here at Keeneland be on the telephone with somebody who wants to bid and have that interaction with the person that’s actually in the sales pavilion.
Martin: Is it looking like most sales are going to take place remotely online?
Arvin: I wouldn’t say most, it will be really interesting to see what percentage of our sales do take place online. We’ve looked at – in Australia, they’ve been doing this for quite some time too and we’ve looked at some of their statistics. So, it will be interesting to see how those fare out.
I think that we have protocols in place and there will be a good number of people on the ground at socially-distanced locations, so that I’d say a decent percentage of bidding will still occur on the physical sales grounds. But, I’m hopeful that this remote bidding option provides a good opportunity to help the industry and the marketplace and also can be one of the silver linings that gives us an opportunity moving forward to let additional people participate in the sale.
Martin: So, you do expect people coming in. I’m wondering where will they be coming from.
Arvin: Usually, we have people coming from as many as 52 countries. So, I’m going to say that number will be a lot smaller this year. When they do come, we’ve got testing protocols set up, so we can be sure that we’re being responsible about people traveling from other locations to Lexington to our community.
And then, once they’re here, as I said masks will be strictly enforced and they’ll be socially-distanced.
Martin: You mentioned protocols and those are some of them. And most everyone except buyers will be required to test negative for COVID-19 within 10 days of coming onto the grounds.
Why are buyers exempt from that?
Arvin: The way that the sales work, if you are a consigner or the staff and you’re working within the barn, it’s harder to socially distance. You certainly can have mask on and you can practice reasonable protocols, but as a consigner or their staff or Keeneland employee, you’re in a situation where day in day out you are potentially interfacing with the public.
If you’re a buyer, there’s less of a reason to be in an enclosed space. You can inspect the horses outside with the mask and socially-distanced and handle that responsibly.
Martin: And, will there be a limit on the number of people allowed to gather in a sales pavilion at any one time?
Arvin: Yes. We have limited sitting capacity and then, we’ll have – we’ll be monitoring certainly the numbers in the sales pavilion, so that stays at responsible level.
Martin: I think I saw the figure something like 4,200 yearlings are on sale this year?
Arvin: Yes.
Martin: Is that a high number for – just for perspective?
Arvin: It’s a customary number for September.
Martin: So, do you feel ready or do you feel prepared for this?
Arvin: We feel ready. We are ready and we’re excited and we are ready for September 13th to come.
This story was originally published September 10, 2020 at 1:35 PM.