From our first auction sale consignment more then twenty years ago, it has been the goal of Havens Bloodstock to elevate the activity to the very top level of professionalism, so that everything is done that can be done to maximize the value of each horse. We believe in the effectiveness of the auction process, and that every detail involved lends itself to a successful outcome. Our goal is quite simply to be the best, provide the best presentation, the most experienced personnel, the most honest and complete information, and a reputation second to none.

Havens Bloodstock has sold more horses in California during the last twenty years than any other agency. We have been the leading California-based agent at virtually every sale here for many years, including two-year-olds in training, broodmares, weanlings, yearlings, and horses of racing age. We have set a number of sales records, including the highest-priced horses ever offered in their category in the January, June, and October Sales.
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Havens Bloodstock is the leading California-based consignor at the two-year-old in training sales on the west coast. We set the original Barretts track record at the preview workouts in the 2000 May Sale (one-eighth of a mile in 9.4 seconds, with a colt named So Urgent) and have consistently produced top performing juveniles at all the two-year-old sales in the state. We are unusual in that we work with farms, breeders, trainers, and training centers from all over in the preparation of the horses for sale allowing owners to take advantage of a number of different pre-sale training opportunities that may best suit their program.

We have excelled in a very competitive area of the auction market by offering a balance between the demands of the buyer for performance and the health and safety of young horses. We have a straightforward program of conditioning to produce two-year-olds that are sound mentally and physically and ready to pursue a long racing career. Buyers have responded to our approach and have shown confidence in our methods through support of our consignments.

Havens Bloodstock set the world's record for the fastest one-eighth work in a preview workout with So Urgent.  His brilliant 9.9 workout was the first time a two-year old had broken 10 seconds at a sale preview.  He went on to become a Souithern California stakes horse with 6 wins, $242,656 Havens Bloodstock had purchased Funder Powers, the dam of So Urgent, for $16,500 as a yearling in 1991.  She was a successful racehorse for her owner, who kept her for breeding that sold her as a broodmare in 2001 for $280,000.

Grade I winner Seattle Smooth running the Ogden Phipps Handicap at Belmont 2009

We attend most major auction sales in North America as a purchasing agent for clients. We have made a great many successful acquisitions of weanlings, yearlings, broodmares, two-year-olds in training, and horses for pinhooking. The list of successful purchases that we have been involved with is quite long, from our first weanling purchase in 1989 (a $21,000 colt, Lottery Winner, which became a Grade 2 stakes winner of $487,425) to the recent Graded stakes winners J Be K and Seattle Smooth (Gr. I), track record setter Indian Way, and Del Mar stakes winner Highland Toree. We have been instrumental in the purchase of a number of top broodmares, including mares that went on to produce such stakes winners as By the Light, Premium Wine, Gallon, Miss Missile, Carbonite, Tres Paraiso, Notional, and Belle's Flag among many others.
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We provide a full line of specialized industry coverages though one of California 's oldest and most experienced insurance companies. These include equine mortality, barrenness, prospective foal, stallion availability and infertility, owner's liability, major medical/surgical and farm owners coverage. We can also offer "fall of the hammer" insurance at most major auction sales throughout the country..
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We have an extensive background and experience providing appraisals and in-depth value analysis designed for a variety of needs. From the evaluation of a single horse to extensive appraisals for estates, banks and litigation support, our professional analysis is backed by more than 20 years of real involvement in the commercial Thoroughbred horse industry. Over the years we have qualified as an IRS approved appraiser and have provided expert witness testimony in numerous court cases..
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It is fundamental to success in the Thoroughbred industry to know where you are going and how you are going to get there. The "lead time" is long and the dynamic forces strong, so it is essential to have a good business plan with a dedicated program of continual re-evaluation over time. We can work with you to provide such a business plan, whether you are just getting started or have been in operation for years. We can provide an analysis of your program, starting with a horse-by-horse evaluation, to produce a specific strategy for auction sales, stallion matings, and racing plans, with continual oversight and re-evaluation over time. There is no more dynamic business than Thoroughbred breeding and racing, and the challenge to a successful program depends on a firm direction with professional guidance.

This industry is full of old sayings, but one of my favorites, which I heard from John Finney, is "Position yourself so luck will run over you." This is a variant of "Fortune favors the prepared mind", but the meaning is clear and particularly important to the Thoroughbred business..
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