As the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continued into its second week Wednesday in Lexington, figures for the auction continued to fall well off 2022 statistics. Through eight sessions, 1,873 horses have sold for $173,925,300 for an average of $92,859 and a median of $40,000. The average is down 17.57% from the corresponding figure from 2022, while the median is down 20.00%. The buy-back rate remained largely steady through eight sessions as 558 horses were reported not sold for a buy-back rate of 22.95%. It was 23.08% a year ago.
Precipitate (Pioneerof the Nile) (hip 2886), in foal to Tacitus, brought the top price of Wednesday's session, selling for $80,000 to James Wyenandt. The 5-year-old mare was consigned by Lane's End on behalf of Juddmonte. She is out of Skywarn (Congrats), a half-sister to champion Close Hatches (First Defence), the dam of multiple graded stakes winner Tacitus (Tapit), as well as to stakes winner and multiple Grade I placed Lockdown (First Defence), who produced recent GI Breeders' Cup Distaff winner Idiomatic (Curlin).
A pair of weanlings by Tonalist bred by Shel Evans were the top-priced foals of Wednesday's session. A colt by the GI Belmont S. winner (hip 2882) sold for $60,000 to Raylan Givens and a filly by the sire (hip 2891) sold for $50,000 to Boyd Crowder. Both were consigned by Lane's End.
The Keeneland November sale concludes with a final session Thursday with bidding beginning at 10 a.m. Keeneland hosts its Horses of Racing Age Sale Friday commencing at noon.
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