THE marathon selling session that is the Keeneland September Yearling Sale gets underway on Monday, September 8th, with 4,686 yearlings catalogued to sell across 12 sessions through to Saturday, September 20th.
The 2024 renewal will be a tough act to follow, as the world’s highest-growing thoroughbred auction in history, with turnover exceeding $428 million.
Incredibly, 36 yearlings sold for $1 million or more, while the average price of $146,926 and median of $70,000 were also records for Keeneland.
Booming trade signalled a healthy industry stateside, where the prize money is just as foreign to us Europeans as the sales prices. Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin commented: “When the September Sale does well, the sport does well. Funds generated here are reinvested into racing through purses, marketplace development, safety initiatives and fan development. The ripple effect of this sale reaches far beyond Keeneland and benefits all in the global thoroughbred community.”
Mandy Pope’s Whisper Hill Farm signed for the two top-priced yearlings 12 months ago, stretching to $5 million for an own-brother to multiple Grade 1 winner Clairiere (Curlin) and $2.2 million for a Gun Runner colt.
Both of their sires are represented this month, along with the likes of American Pharoah, Candy Ride (ARG), City Of Light, Constitution, Ghostzapper, Good Magic, Hard Spun, Into Mischief, Justify, Liam’s Map, Maclean’s Music, Medaglia d’Oro, Munnings, Not This Time, Nyquist, Practical Joke, Quality Road, Speightstown, Street Sense, Tapit, Twirling Candy, Uncle Mo, Vekoma, Violence and War Front.
They will be joined by familiar European names, such as Kingman, Night Of Thunder, No Nay Never and Wootton Bassett.
Changes
Notably, over a quarter of the catalogue consists of yearlings by first-crop sires, including Corniche, Epicenter, Golden Pal and Horse Of The Year Flightline.
Keeneland Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach commented: “This year’s catalogue features nearly double the number of yearlings by first-crop sires compared to last year, including 11 stallions that stood for $25,000 or more. This speaks to the exceptional depth of this year’s sale and the level of quality that buyers can expect to find when they come to Keeneland in September.”
A notable difference this year is the division of the final sale into Book 5A and Book 5B. Explaining the decision, Keeneland Vice President of Sales, Tony Lacy, said: “While this shift in terminology is subtle, we believe it more accurately reflects the quality of these sessions and drives the right buyer engagement - ensuring these yearlings receive the buyers and attention they deserve.
“Several encouraging developments have driven this decision: the strength of the individuals, the continued growth of the catalogue and the evolving commercial breeding practices that continue to raise the overall standard on offer.
“This has resulted in a depth and consistency of quality across all 12 days of the sale unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
The Keeneland September Yearling Sale schedule is as follows:
Book 1: Monday, September 8th - Tuesday, September 9th each session beginning at 1pm local time
Book 2: Wednesday, September 10th - Thursday, September 11th, each session beginning at 11am local time
Dark Day: Friday, September 12th. No sale will be conducted.
Book 3: Saturday, September 13th - Sunday, September 14th, each session beginning at 10am local time
Book 4: Monday, September 15th - Tuesday, September 16th, each session beginning at 10am local time
Book 5A: Wednesday, September 17th - Thursday, September 18th, each session beginning at 10am local time
Book 5B: Friday, September 19th - Saturday, September 20th, each session beginning at 10am local time