Arqana

Arqana is the main bloodstock auction house in France, licensed as an operator of voluntary public auctions since 2007 and selling from its complex in Deauville. Alongside the flat thoroughbred sales it runs a trotting strand and an online platform, so the year is not limited to the ring weeks.

What you can buy

• Yearlings, sold in graded sessions across the season.
• Breeze-up horses — two-year-olds sold after a timed gallop.
• Breeding stock and foals.
• Trotters, through the dedicated Arqana Trot sales.
• Online lots outside the main ring calendar.

How the bidding works

The August sale at Deauville is the centrepiece, with catalogues and pedigree pages published in advance and a repository of veterinary material for inspection. Bidding happens in the ring with online participation for registered buyers; the online platform runs its own separate sales.

What to check before you bid

French owners' premiums attach to qualifying horses and materially change what a lot is worth if you race in France — check the qualification rather than assuming it. Breeze-up times are public and heavily traded on, but a fast breeze and a sound horse are different questions, which is what the repository is for. Transport and quarantine between France and other jurisdictions need arranging before the sale, not after the hammer.