TDN Weekend December 2016 Issue 9
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1045316
"This lightbulb here has gone. And that tap isn't working." "Okay, I'll have someone come down right away and sort that out." "And this catalogue page has left off so-and-so." "Okay, let me see about that." And back in the office they would ex- plain that the consignor had been late making his entry. "So I'd go back and say, 'Well, I looked into it and they're sorry that happened. But you are aware of the deadline?' And he'd say 'What deadline?' 'Well, it was April 1; do me a favour, and remember that next year.' The thing was to be avail- able." And of course he witnessed tumultu- ous times in the bloodstock market. To Bassett, the advent of global investors— from the Middle East, Japan, South Amer- ica—made the European auction houses partners as much as rivals. So he engaged with them, urged them that they could all prosper together. "If they had a good client who wanted to come here, they should let us know and we'd take care of him," he says. "And we'd turn around and send buyers back to them, saying here's someone you ought to look at. Because here's the thing. There's enough out there for all of us—if we make the industry strong, make our product strong." The innovation of the Breeders' Cup borrowed from that same tailwind. In making concrete the vision of John Gaines, however, there was the familiar challenge of persuading factions of their mutual interests; to accept that Bassett was not there to rock the boat, but to get it on an even keel. "Gaines was a Renaissance man with brilliant ideas," Bassett remembers. "But his modus operandi was A-to-Z. Inside the industry was jealousy, and a fear of change. The big breeders, who under- neath were all fierce competitors, didn't feel comfortable. 'How is this going to af- fect me? How am I going to benefit from this?' "Then there was the resentment of the tracks. NYRA had their fall racing series and hated the idea. The second Breeders' Cup was at Aqueduct and we had a giant temporary video board and a Breeders' Cup sign. And the first thing they said was tear that board down. It was very