When investment in the Australian yearling market dropped 8.33 per cent in 2023, the signs were there that the industry was coming off the giddy pandemic-level heights when it came to demand for horses.
Sales companies often talking about vendors needing to ‘meet the market’ when it comes to setting reserves, but their response to a bearish yearling market was to increase the volume of product offered through the first five sales of the 2024 season.
Through sales on the Gold Coast, Sydney, Perth, Tasmania and Melbourne, there have been 166 additional horses catalogued sale by Inglis and Magic Millions combined. After withdrawals, 144 extra yearlings have been offered through the ring.
That has meant that the number of yearlings sold to this point of 2024, 2676, is 19 more than it was at the same time last year in what is a retreating market.
However, the total spent on those horses has dropped some $15.8 million, or four per cent, while the average price of a yearling has fallen 4.7 per cent to $141,482.
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