Magic Millions Sales Pty Ltd is an Australian

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

house which holds auctions around Australia each year including its world famous Gold Coast Yearling Sale at

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. Seven days of auctions are joined by a major

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

meeting where all nine races are only open to horses who were bought at auctions staged by Magic Millions over the previous years. The race events includes the $2 million

Magic Millions Classic The Magic Millions 2YO Classic is a Gold Coast Turf Club Restricted Listed Thoroughbred horse race. The race is conducted under set weights and is restricted to two year old horses that were bought at a Magic Millions Sale auction. Eligible auction ...

for two-year-olds - a race which carries a $500,000 bonus for all female raced runners. The Gold Coast Raceday alone boasts prizemoney of $10 million and was the first race meeting held in Australasia with a $10 million total purse. The Gold Coast Yearling Sale is considered to be a top level auction in global racing circles, with buyers from Hong Kong, Japan, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, China, the United States and the Middle East. The record for an individual horse purchase as a yearling was made by Patinack Farm twice at the 2008 Magic Millions where that team spent $2.2 million on two Redoute's Choice colts - one a three quarter brother to Dance Hero and one a three quarter brother to their stable star Casino Prince. The National Sale - comprising weanlings, yearling, broodmares and racehorses - is one of three world's most important breeding stock sales and is held each year in late May and June. The all time auction record for Magic Millions was set in 2016 when outstanding broodmare Listen Here (dam of G1 winner Shooting to Win and G2 winner Deep Field) sold for $3.4 million. In the late 1990s the auction house was almost bankrupt. It was bought by three business men, including the Australian retail entrepreneur and horse breeder

Gerry Harvey Gerry Harvey (born 18 September 1939) is an Australian entrepreneur best known for being the executive chairman of Harvey Norman Holdings, a company which runs Australian retail chain Harvey Norman. He co-founded it with Ian Norman in 1982. B ...

and Australian advertising entrepreneur

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

. Both set about reviving the fortunes of the auction. As of 2015, Magic Millions is co-owned by Harvey and his wife and business partner,

Katie Page Kay Leslie "Katie" Page (born 1956) is an Australian business executive and the CEO of retailer Harvey Norman. In 2015, she was ranked fourth on the list of the "50 most powerful women in business". She is a backer of several professional sports ...

. The company is now owned in its entirety by Gerry Harvey and Katie Page after they purchased interests of the other partners in 2011. Better funding, advertising, networking and public reportage have led to the Magic Millions growing considerably in national and international stature. The international profile of the auction has also been helped by the recent development in the breeding world of 'shuttle stallions' - the practise whereby the very top stallions in the world are now flown between Australia, Asia, Europe and the US to be put to service. The end result of this is that whereas ten years ago only Australian champions would have bred progeny on offer in Australia, there is now just as likely to be the offspring of a

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe The Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe is a Group 1 flat horse race in France open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Longchamp Racecourse in Paris, France, over a distance ...

winner as that of a

Melbourne Cup The Melbourne Cup is a Thoroughbred horse race held in Melbourne, Australia. It is a 3200-metre race for three-year-olds and over, conducted by the Victoria Racing Club on the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne, Victoria as part of the Melbou ...

champion. Magic Millions has sold many champions over the years including the current world's best turf galloper Winx - a $230,000 purchase from the 2013 Gold Coast Yearling Sale who won 25 Group One races and her final 33 races in succession.

References

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External links

Official website
Horse racing in Australia Horse auction houses Sport on the Gold Coast, Queensland