The Horse Traders

At Santa Anita one night in 1947, horse fanciers and some of Hollywood's top stars looked down on a spotlighted auction ring for a notable equine event. On the block was the first lot of thoroughbreds from Cinemogul Louis B. Mayer's famed stable. As the sale began, L.B. jokingly whispered in the ear of Announcer Humphrey S. Finney: "I found Clark Gable as an extra and converted him into the biggest thing in pictures. Now I'm going to convert Finney into the biggest salesman in the horse business."

Thanks to the sale's Hollywood-like showmanship, prices soared to unheard-of highs; Harry Warner paid $200,000 for Stepfather and $135,000 for Honeymoon. In that and four subsequent sales, the Mayer horses were sold for $4,500,000, the biggest sum ever racked up by Finney' as announcer (i.e., sale manager) for New York's Fasig-Tipton Co.

Last week Mayer's predictions came true. As control of Fasig-Tipton Co., the biggest private auctioneer in the horse business, passed to new owners,* Humphrey Finney became executive vice president and general manager. He will continue as announcer (an official who works with an auctioneer at horse sales).

Corralling the Market. Fasig-Tipton was started 50 years ago by William B. Fasig, who later took in Edward Tipton. They were horse traders who for years ran the sales of trotters and pacers in Manhattan's old Madison Square Garden. The company corralled the running-horse market in 1917, when it signed an agreement with most of the nation's leading breeders giving it sole rights to sell their horses. In return, Fasig-Tipton built stalls, sales paddocks and other installations at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., thereby making the yearling sales at the spa the most famed in the U.S.

In the past 35 years, Fasig-Tipton has auctioned stock for everyone in the horsy set from the Vanderbilts to the Aga Khan, at an average fee of about 5% of the sale price. Among the biggest prizewinners it has handled: Battlefield, which went for $4,500 and has already earned $430,000; Alsab, which sold for a paltry $700 and earned Owner Mrs. Albert Sabath $350,000; and Man o' War, the equine immortal which went for $5,000 and racked up a gross track income of $249,465.

Auctioning horses requires as much know-how as bringing them home in front. The minute a horse is put up for sale, Fasig-Tipton's pedigree department gets busy compiling a dope sheet for prospective buyers on the horse's genealogy and racing record.

Announcer Finney works as a teammate with Auctioneer George Swinebroad, a 51-year-old veteran who can sniff out a bid almost before the buyer has made up his own mind. Finney is the master of purple prose, Swinebroad the maker of split-second decisions with the hammer.

Dog Race. In warming up his audience with a description of a horse, Finney speaks slowly and distinctly, well aware that'many of the older members of the audience may be deaf and that the younger bloods, like as not, have just had four or five Martinis. Often when the bids hang after a quick runup, Finney interrupts the proceedings with a little spice. "Come on, gentlemen," he will say, "you're surely not going to let this fine horse go for only $7,500. Why, this filly is worth twice as much as the bid, just to breed, even if she never raced." (During the Depression Announcer Finney was equally reluctant to "let this fine horse go for $30.")

British-born Finney, who came from a long line of Anglican parsons, learned about horses as a groom and stable boy. He is known for his ability to produce furlongs of equine statistics at the drop of a crop. But his technique is not all smooth talk. At one auction, a heckler who was scornful of the horses up for sale asked Finney: "When are you going to start the dog race?" Snapped Finney: "Just as soon as you can get in shape to run."

* In a $200,000 deal, Virginia's Gilpin family, which has controlled the company since 1943, agreed to sell most of its stock to a group including Mrs. E. C. ("Liz" Whitney) Person, Banker John W. Hanes and Financier Whitney Stone.

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