Brightwells Bloodstock auction, Friday 13th December

After the final race on Friday there was a horse auction (known as Bloodstock) held in the auction ring at the racecourse, where Brightwells, the auctioneers, hold about five sales a year. This is your civvie's chance to get into the game of national hunt racing - if you happen to have a spare £50,000. Horses with lineage, or form, were going for up to 5 times that amount. What's nice is that everyone is given a little auction booklet with all the listings in it, even though I imagine 95% of the room can only afford to watch and dream. That doesn't prevent eager form study, however:

There were two auction emcees taking turns (presumably to get their breath back). Brightwells was established in 1846 and the lead auctioneer's English was roughly of that era, and very fast:

It's generous to say that picking a winner at this stage is about as easy as it is before a race; which is to say not very. However, I certainly wouldn't go for this horse; his legs look a bit wrong. Alternatively, they are very long, which might make a good jumper. I'm still a bit iffy on the horses. The lad on the right was scanning the room for buyers; no cigar for him as he had my bit of the room:
:

 This horse looks a bit better, possibly because he has no calves:

The part of the room nearest the horses was roped off and catered for; I guess where the money sits. There was more drinking and eating than bidding, however - for that read racing in general:

The bidding mostly comes from the sides; owners and their agents loitering with intent near the bins:

This is the ring, where the horses are led out for inspection. They are marched around in a circle until they are sold, at which point off they go to their new yards:

These were the people in the rows to my right. Most people at the races, big or small, become more than casual observers, in the end: