Henry Beeby has long been one of the most recognisable figures in European racing - with one of the most recognisable voices. A racehorse auctioneer for nearly 40 years, he has handled some of the most high-profile sales in Britain and Ireland in recent years, including knocking Irish Oaks winner Chicquita down for €6 in Ireland in 2013.
Beeby is chief executive of the Irish-based sales giant Goffs, whose flagship Orby Sale is on September 28-29. He is also chairman of Goffs UK, formerly Doncaster Bloodstock Sales, which merged with Goffs in 2007. His many roles in the industry have included compering the annual awards for Britain’s Racehorse Owners Association and Thoroughbred Breeders Association.
Who do you think is the most important figure in the history of racing around the world?
There have been lots of great people in this wonderfully diverse sport/industry, but I think that John Magnier’s name will be remembered for ever as the way Coolmore has evolved and developed over the last 50 years is extraordinary. The vision and ambition that has made it such an international behemoth of the bloodstock and racing industry is really down to him, and the fact that he always surrounded himself with the best, whether it be Vincent O’Brien and Robert Sangster at the start or Aidan O’Brien and others today, demonstrates a farsightedness and skill that very few possess.
What is your favourite race and venue (anywhere in the world)?
I couldn’t pick just one as I am very lucky to attend so many superb tracks and meetings. The Curragh and Leopardstown, especially on Irish Champions Weekend, are both wonderful; I love York’s Ebor meeting; Royal Ascot is unique with top-class race after top-class race; the Cheltenham, Punchestown and Aintree Festivals are all very special.
As for a race, again, I couldn’t separate about half a dozen that excite me every time from the Guineas to the Derbys (any of the English or Irish versions), the Coventry and St James’s Palace at Ascot, the Gold Cups at Cheltenham and Punchestown, the Grand National, the Arc, the National Stakes (which we sponsor at the Curragh and is invariably won by the champion 2-year-old). The list could go on and on as I just love good racing as that is what dominates my life.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
The only Arc I have attended was the amazing win by Sea The Starsto cap his unsurpassed career. He is without doubt the best, most complete racehorse and beautiful Thoroughbred I have ever seen, and the way he won the Arc (see video below) took my breath away.
What is the biggest challenge racing faces today?
Prize money, prize money and prize money in the UK. Boring I know, and I don’t have the answer, but something has to change as British racing cannot rely on prestige alone ad infinitum. And it doesn’t matter whether you are based in Ireland or the UK, or further afield, it makes a difference to the health of racing upon which so many of us rely and about which we care so deeply.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
One set of international rules on all aspects of racing from interference to drugs, to whip use and more. It is madness that racing operates different rules all over the world when all other major sports, such as football, rugby, tennis, golf etc work to one.