Blockbuster Keeneland September Sale Concludes with Record Gross, Average and Median

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, which surpassed its record gross Thursday with two sessions still to go, concluded its blockbuster 12-day run Saturday in Lexington with increases across the board over its 2023 renewal. In addition to its record gross, the sale produced its highest-ever average and a tied its record median.

“The energy here was at times reminiscent of another era,” said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy. “When we were on inspections earlier this year, we saw quality and consistency among the crop, and it gave us a lot of excitement. And when the horses showed up at the sale, it verified our expectations. The market was very broad based. We saw new faces and welcomed back people we haven't seen in years from all over the world who returned because of their confidence in the U.S. industry and Keeneland being a global marketplace.”

During the 12-day auction, 2,735 horses sold for a total of $411,749,500. The average of $150,548 was up 5.20% from a year ago and the median of $70,000 was up 4.48%.

The previous record gross, $405,495,700, and average, $142,429, were both set in 2022, as was the record-setting median. The average and median records were broken in both 2021 and 2022, while the 2022 gross broke the sales record set in 2006.

A total of 36 yearlings–led by a $5-million son of Curlin–sold for a million or more during the auction, up from 30 a year ago and second-most ever at the auction behind only 2005. The sale topper was the highest-priced colt sold at September since 2006. There were 185 horses who sold for $500,000 or more at the September sale this year, versus 168 in 2023.

“The support of our breeders,” Keeneland Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach responded when asked what was responsible for the strength of the sale. “It's hats off to them.”

Breathnach continued, “We rely, first and foremast, on the support of the breeders and consignors that bring the horses here. And then it's incumbent on us to reinforce the strength of the sale year on year and attract more and more buyers from around the world, as well as domestically. So we are very pleased with how this sale has gone. Not everyone has had an outstanding sale, but overall, this has been an extremely strong and a record September sale.”

For the fourth year in a row, the September sale opened with a pair of elite Book 1 sessions, followed by two Book 2 sessions. The format has been steadily gaining traction with both buyers and sellers with a power-packed Book 1 setting the table for the rest of the auction.

“The diversity in the horses was what the buyers were looking for and they responded with the way the sale shaped up,” said Lacy. “The Book 1 format–putting the best athletes and best physicals forward–has been very well received. We received many compliments on the quality of the stock and I think you saw it in the results that followed as well. Which is very gratifying.”

Lacy added the successful September market reflects a positive state of the industry as a whole and particularly the impact of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

“I think the new medication regulations have given a huge sense of confidence to the buyers,” he said. “It's something they've been looking to for quite a while. I think the industry has responded well to it. It's not a perfect situation, but no growth is without pain. Seeing new people coming in and investing significant amounts of money in the last two weeks was sort of a great illustration of where the industry is going as a whole. It's a great sign of an upward swing and I think we are at the beginning of a potentially very large upswing for the industry and the sport in general. I think we have to be very optimistic as we go forward.”

Among the happy consignors leaving Keeneland was Tom Hinkle of Hinkle Farms, which sold all 20 horses in its consignment for $6,175,000, highlighted by a Curlin filly for $1.2 million and a Constitution colt for $1.1 million.

“It's been an awesome sale,” said Hinkle. “We budget every year for what we think our yearling crop is going to bring and we're fairly conservative, and it has considerably exceeded our expectations. As far as I'm concerned, Keeneland has done a fabulous job. The way they put together Books 1 and 2 has been really good and everybody has gotten used to it. They have done a heck of a job recruiting active buyers from all parts of the world. If you had the right horse and it met the criteria, you were greatly rewarded.”

Broad Buying Base

The September sale, which as recently as five years ago was consistently dominated by just two buyers, featured a deep and diverse buying bench in 2024. At the top of the market, the 36 yearlings who sold for $1 million or over were purchased by 24 unique entities. In addition, 96 different buyers spent $1 million or more during the sale, compared to 82 last year.

“The stretching and the depth of the domestic market has been outstanding,” said Lacy. “Having 24 individual entities buying a horse for a million dollars or above is an outstanding number. And 48 consignors sold a horse for $500,000 or more. That shows a broadness of the market and how many people got rewarded for the quality product that they brought to the market.”

Across the sale, the results sheets featured buyers from 31 different countries.

“Our international outreach, I think, is paying dividends,” Breathnach said. “We have had sales team members go all over the world. We had three members in the Middle East for a long stint between the Saudi Cup and Dubia World Cup. We had members in Japan, Eastern Europe, South America and all over the country in the U.S., and also in England and Ireland. We sponsor races around the world. We are really putting our best foot forward, trying to engage the international community, as well as the domestic buying base. I think the most gratifying thing for us is seeing the number of countries that have bought from the September catalogue, which is a couple more than last year and heading in the right direction.”

Celebrating the sale of a $1.4-million colt and a $975,000 filly, Blue Heaven Farm co-owner Adam Corndorf said, “We have had a few good ones over the years, but this was the first year we had two high-end horses that got up in the stratosphere. It was a dream come true. There was a good broad base of lookers, including pinhookers, international and domestic buyers. The top end of the market was what we expected, but we were pleasantly surprised with what our horses brought in that second tier, in Book 3.”

Strength from Start to Finish

Demand, which started out at a fever-pitch in Book 1, remained strong throughout the September sale, with the median increasing year-over-year during each of the 12 sessions of the auction. The auction's fourth session–the second Book 2 session–saw the biggest percentage increase in median at 25% over 2023 figures.

“We look at the median because that's more indicative of the power of the middle market,” Breathnach said. “The median and the RNA rate are what allow you to better compare year to year. With our consistent format we can begin to identify trends. With this being the fourth year with the same format, the median has increased every single session.”

The session average saw declines in just two sessions–with the auction's ninth session dipping marginally at 0.99% and the final session down 5.08%. The sale's second day average of $611,038 established a session record, bettering the previous mark of $589,814 from the same session in 2006.

“Book 1 had one of the strongest groups of physicals I've seen for a while,” said Nick deMeric, whose deMeric Sales purchased eight yearlings for $1,095,000. “Keeneland did a very good job managing it. It wasn't just reflected in the prices, but also in the momentum the sale got from the word go. As we all know, it carries over. It keeps the sale strong when you start off strong.

“When enough of us get shut out in the early parts of the sale, we're just going to work harder later in the sale. We got one Wednesday, we paid $110,000 for and we thought we would get it for $60,000. It definitely carried over. The better physicals were well received and hard to buy as a result.”

With 804 yearlings reported not sold during the auction, the buy-back rate was 22.72% in 2024. It was 20.22% a year ago.

“The RNA rate tended to be a tick higher through the books through each session, which might be a sign that there might be a few more sellers who might not be getting what they wanted out of this,” Breathnach said. “Which is obviously something we will be working on. Also, with the stronger market, you can tend to set a higher reserve. So it's a bit of both.”

At the conclusion of Saturday's session, an additional 153 yearlings were reported as post sales for a gross of $16,050,500. Those post sale transactions are not included in the sale's final figures.

“Our post sale RNA-to-sale activity is up at least 10% from last year,” Breathnach said. “So we are well north of $15 million in post sales.”

Trainer Eddie Kenneally, who purchased 14 yearlings for a total of $1,077,000, agreed there was plenty to attract his attention throughout the auction.

“All the way through the sale there were quality horses distributed throughout the books,” Kenneally said during Session 10. “Obviously, there was more pedigree in Book 1 and into Book 2, but there were nice individuals all the way to [the end of the sale]. There is a horse for everybody. There are buyers getting shuffled back every day and they can't get the number of horses they need to get. They're having to spend more time here because it is so competitive with the quality coming through. I think the strength of Kentucky racing right now is a big part of what's driving it all.”

The increases can be traced, at least in part, to the depth of quality in a diminishing foal crop, according to Breathnach.

“The floor–meaning the bottom sector of the horses coming to market–is so much higher than it was even five or 10 years ago,” Breathnach said. “A lot of older mares whose produce record has shown they are not successful are no longer being bred, or those yearlings are not coming to market. There really is quality right through the end of the sale. The breeders, and we say this all of the time, are very sophisticated. Production costs are high, they cannot afford to raise horses that won't be commercial. So there really is a very high floor and a high ceiling in what is there.”

The strength in the middle market reflects Keeneland's commitment to breeders in that segment of the sale, according to Lacy.

“That's the core of what we all do,” Lacy said. “That's why we are here. We know the responsibility that Keeneland as an organization has towards the breeders and to the industry as a whole. A lot of the breeders are friends or colleagues over the years. We put a lot of pressure on ourselves knowing that the success of the September sale is a big factor in how their year turns out. They are farmers bringing their crops to market. That is something that is critical to the core of what Keeneland is. We are here to support the market. Everything we do is put back into the market and breeders at all levels, and especially the core breeders in the middle market, are the fabric of what we exist for.”

SF/Starlight/Madaket on Top Again

For the second year in a row, the stallion-making partnership of SF Racing, Starlight Racing and Madaket Stable was the leading buyer at the September sale. With Donato Lanni as agent, the group purchased 18 yearlings for a gross of $11,330,000. Last year, it purchased 20 head for $12,590,000.

“It was one of the strongest sales I've ever seen at Keeneland,” Lanni said. “It was great to see so many people here buying horses and it was extremely competitive. If we wanted to buy a horse, it cost more. You had to be ready to give more than you expected. There were some people at this sale I hadn't seen in long time, so Keeneland did a good job bringing them in as well.”

Donato Lanni | Keeneland

Belladonna Racing, with trainer Cherie DeVaux as agent, was the auction's second leading buyer with 20 head purchased for $9,845,000.

Mike Repole, who alone was the second leading buyer at the 2023 auction, and in partnership with St. Elias Stable was the leading buyer in 2022 and 2021, was the third leading single buyer this year with 25 purchased for $9,755,000. However, including partnerships, Repole Stables purchased 39 yearlings for $12,851,667 at the stand. A year ago, Repole purchased 35 yearlings for $11,835,000.

Taylor Made Leading Consignor

Taylor Made Sales Agency was the leading consignor at the September sale for the 25th time since 1988, regaining the title after having an eight-year streak halted by Gainesway in 2023.

Taylor Made sold 333 horses for a total of $53,133,200 and an average of $159,559. The gross is the highest for a September sale consignor since Taylor Made grossed $57 million in 2007.

“It's been crazy good,” Taylor Made's Frank Taylor said of the sale. “This sale was really, really good. It was way better than I anticipated. It's amazing how strong the market is, with everything that's going on in the world. Racing is good, and there is a lot of enthusiasm. People want to buy racehorses.”

Gainesway was the auction's second leading consignor with 125 sold for $39,854,000 and an average of $318,832.

4100 horses into the ⁦@keenelandsales⁩ and the back ring is rocking!! $1 🌭 and $1 🍺 is adding fuel to the 🔥!

⁦@TaylorMadeSales⁩ pic.twitter.com/hmqCGcnUV1

— Mark Taylor (@TaylorMadeMark) September 21, 2024

Sire Power

The diversity in the buying bench was mirrored in the sire ranks, with Curlin–in a tight three-way battle–earning top honors with 44 head sold for an average of $579,432. Into Mischief was second with 42 sold for an average of $535,476 and Gun Runner was third with 62 sold for an average of $526,855.

In 2023, Into Mischief was the sale's leading sire with 53 sold for an average of $698,019. His nearest pursuer was Tapit, who had 25 sold for an average of $441,480.

Among Curlin's five million-dollar yearlings was the auction's top-priced offering, a son of Cavorting and full-brother to Clairiere, who sold for $5 million to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm.

Gun Runner had seven million-dollar yearlings, led by a $2.2-million colt also purchased by Pope. Into Mischief had four yearlings bring seven figures and Constitution, Nyquist and Not This Time had three. Tapit had two.

A group of first-crop sires broke into the headlines with million-dollar yearlings of their own. Both Charlatan and Maxfield had a pair of yearlings from their first crops break the seven-figure threshold, while Yaupon came close with a $900,000 colt.

Charlatan had 74 through the ring sell for an average of $263,649, while Maxfield had 56 sell for an average of $234,446.

“It was a great crop of first-season sires,” Lacy said. “The young stallions with their first runners this year are getting results on the track and gaining a lot of traction in the ring as well. When you look at the beginning of the sale, through the first week, we had a great variety of stallions gaining attention in the market. Having Maxfield and Charlatan having multiple million-dollar-plus horses is a testament to that. It's exciting for the future.”

Rock Your World Yearlings Top Final Session

A colt by Rock Your World (hip 4228) topped the final session of the September sale when selling for $85,000 to Zap/Murphy for California Racing Partners and Ciaglia. The yearling was consigned by Stoneriggs Farm, Agent III. A filly from the first crop of the GI Santa Anita Derby winner (hip 4337) brought the session's second highest price when selling for $55,000 to Tom Tatum. The bay was consigned by Vinery Sales.

During Saturday's final session, 203 yearlings grossed $2,662,000 for an average of $13,113 and a median of $10,000. The average dipped 5.08% from the final session of last year's sale, while the median rose 11.11%.