For the first time, the 2020 Harness Racing British Columbia Yearling Sale will be conducted in a virtual format.

The sale consists of 48 yearlings that, by way of the sale, will be eligible to the 2022 British Columbia Sales Stakes. Many of the yearlings available for sale are eligible to the B.C. Breeders Stakes and other key stakes in Alberta and Ontario.

"Our normal procedure would call for a live sale, but due to COVID-19, we made the decision to go virtual," said HRBC executive director Nigel Holmes. "As it turns out, it was a good decision, especially with the recent increase in cases in B.C. and across the country."

"As in other jurisdictions, there has been some reluctance to go with a strictly online sale, but we have been working closely with OnGait," Holmes continued. "Our breeders events manager, Diane Pennington, has been an excellent go between OnGait and HRBC in getting the answers for the owners to the many questions that come from the change from the standard live sales tradition."

Major consignors include Surdale Farms, Seaspray Stables, Sisters Creek Ranch, and the partnership of the J J J Stables and Jim Marino.

Custard The Dragon, the sire of western Canada's top three-year-old colt Major Custard and rising freshman filly Custard Smoothie, accounts for 13 yearlings in the sale. Other prominent sires represented are Shadow Play, Sportswriter, Bettors Delight and Mystician.

The complete list of horses to be sold, along with photographs and sale pedigrees, can be found here.

Bids are accepted from Friday (Nov. 20) through Tuesday (Nov. 24) through the OnGait website, with the first auctions closing on Monday (Nov. 23).

(with files from HRBC)