Lelands Auctions to offer live on-site memorabilia appraisals at Equestricon, bring racing history to life at historic convention

NEW YORK, N.Y. (May 22, 2017) — Leading online sports auction house Lelands will have a major presence at Equestricon, organizers announced today. For the first time, Lelands will offer live on-site appraisals of all racing items, allowing attendees of the historic convention an opportunity to bring in their racing memorabilia and to find out what it’s worth.

It was also announced that some of the featured items from Lelands Fall 2017 Auction Catalogue will be available for viewing at Equestricon. The items will be part of an auction that will end after Equestricon. Highlighting the fall auction will be the garland from the 1973 Preakness, won by Meadow Stable’s eventual Triple Crown winner Secretariat.

“We are ecstatic about the opportunity to partner with Equestricon, enhancing what it is already a can’t-miss event for any racing fan and memorabilia collector,” said Lelands President Mike Heffner. “Between the historic significance of the items we’ll have on display and the chance for attendees to get their pieces appraised, it’s going to be a really fun couple of days.”

Lelands will be stationed inside the main exhibit hall at the Saratoga Springs City Center during the general session of Equestricon, Monday, August 14 - Tuesday August 15. Equestricon kicks off on Sunday, August 13, with events around Saratoga Springs. A full schedule of activities for the first-ever international racing convention, fan festival and trade show can be found on Equestricon.com.

Among the presenters and racing celebrities scheduled to appear at Equestricon are Triple Crown-winning jockeys Ron Turcotte, Jean Cruguet and Steve Cauthen, as well as Hall of Famers like Pat Day and Ramon Dominguez. Adding to the novelty of the enterprising event is that some of the legendary personalities scheduled to appear will be available to discuss some of the races and historic artifacts tied to them — some of those items will even be available for viewing as part of the Lelands display.

“The accessibility at Equestricon to really get to the people that are such key figures in the sport is unprecedented,” said Leonard Lusky of Commemorative Derby Promotions, who helped facilitate some of the celebrity appearances scheduled for Equestricon.

“I can’t ever remember an auction taking place where the actual connections to the memorabilia are there to talk to fans about it.”

Equestricon™ is the first international horse racing convention, trade show and fan festival. Founded by Dan Tordjman, Kathryn Sharp and Justin Nicholson, Equestricon™ is designed to bring the horse racing industry together in an atmosphere of entertainment, engagement and education. The inaugural Equestricon™ will be held in Saratoga Springs, kicking off on August 13, and continuing with its General Session August 14-15 at the Saratoga Springs City Center. The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) is the official charity partner of Equestricon™. For more information, please visit equestricon.com.