It's a bright and cold winter's morning.

Smartly dressed, serious buyers are watching every move of the horses for sale.

You join me at the most famous thoroughbred horse auction in the world.

It's been held here for more than 250 years in the small British town of Newmarket

by the Tattersall's company.

And these horse athletes are what the global multi-billion dollar thoroughbred horse racing business relies on.

I'm Susie Emmett and this is horses for courses here on BBC World Service.

So let's get a grasp of the glamour here,

since the glory in getting a horse that proves to be a champion

feel the grit and determination that goes into rearing these elegant athletic creatures.

And let's understand what draws so many remarkable people here from so many parts of the world.

It's a mixture of stress, strain, ecstasy, disappointment and every other emotion

that can run through a person's body. It's everything.

If anybody wants to see something that's really good in sporting and evolutionary terms, they want to come here.

It's the buying and selling of dreams, because that's what we do.

Every horse here, they're all potential champions.

This is probably in a very small area, the place in the world where you find the biggest number of nationalities,

personalities, characters and stories.

Not long now until today's selling will start.

And it's the only chance to have a word with one of the auctioneers.

The head auctioneer and chairman of Tattasels is Edmund Marnie.

We're standing on what we call the rostrum and in front of us is the ring.

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