Keeneland September Yearling Sale

While the marquee horses and seven-figure fireworks are long since in the rear-view mirror when the Keeneland September Sale--the largest of its kind in the world--reaches its later books, there are still horses to be sold, even as the demand for those youngsters could begin to wane. Several years ago, in an effort to drum up interest in the latter stages of the sale, officials at the Lexington auction house began mining smaller, off-the-beaten-path markets, and those efforts have borne fruit in places like Russia, where Lyudovik (Constitution) became the...

LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened its two-session Book 3 with a day of solid trade Friday in Lexington, with bloodstock agent Mike Ryan making the day's highest bid of $625,000 to acquire a colt by red-hot sire Into Mischief (hip 1614). In all, 200 yearlings grossed $21,803,500 during the session for an average of $109,018 and a median of $85,000. With 134 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate remained elevated at 40.12%. The auction's cumulative buy-back rate stands at 39.72%. Last year's first Book 3...

Beau Lane has been in the horse business for half a century. He came to Lexington 23 years ago with six broodmares in tow and $50 in his pocket. Not long after, three of those mares became stakes producers--a harbinger of things to come. Since then, the veteran horseman has grown his band of breeding stock and now has 30 broodmares at his Woodline Farm near Paris. While he's never been able to sign tickets on million-dollar broodmares, he said he doesn't find it necessary. "I usually don't spend over...

By Brian DiDonato & Jessica Martini LEXINGTON, KY--While Thursday's second and final Book 2 session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale included some lulls without big-money sellers, it finished strong, with the day's top two lots coming in the final 20 or so hips. A colt by the in-demand Into Mischief (hip 1203) was the lone Book 2 offering to reach the seven-figure threshold, selling for an even $1-million to Peter Leidel, who did his bidding on the phone. The son of Grade II winner Teen Pauline (Tapit) was consigned...

Minutes before the start of Book 2 of the annual Keeneland September Yearling Sale, Director of Sales Operations Geoffrey Russell joins the TDN Writers' Room to recap Book 1 and discuss expectations for the remainder of the sale.

LEXINGTON, KY - When Oussama Aboughazale purchased the former Belvedere Farm in Paris, Kentucky four years ago, he immediately began building a broodmare band for the 235-acre property. Those initial investments are now finding success both in the sales ring--where the operation was represented by its first $1-million yearling in 2019--and on the racetrack where Princess Noor (Not This Time), bred by Aboughazale's International Equities Holding, recently won the GI Del Mar Debutante. "I loved Kentucky from the first time I came here more than 20 years ago," Aboughazale, born...

Yearlings by a pair of this country's most prominent sires and each the produce of 'TDN Rising Stars' sold minutes apart late during the second session at Keeneland September to close the day as the top two lots. First through the ring was hip 435, a son of Tapit out of Tara's Tango (Unbridled's Song), who brought the hammer down at an even $2 million. The colt will be campaigned by a powerhouse partnership including Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Robert LaPenta, Gainesway and Ron Winchell. Stonestreet will also retain an interest....

   Agent Liz Crow went to $1.025 million late in Tuesday's Book 1 session to secure an Into Mischief half-sister to GISW Gift Box (Twirling Candy), MGSW Stonetastic (Mizzen Mast) and MGSP Special Forces (Candy Ride {Arg}). Hip 405 was bred by Carrie and Craig Brogden and Dr. Sandra Fubini's Machmer Hall and offered by their new Machmer Hall Sales.    "We just really like buying from Carrie; I think she and Craig do such a good job of raising really good racehorses," Crow said. "Obviously, the mare has proven...

Hip 319, a Medaglia 'Oro half-sister to Group 3 winner Sergei Prokofiev (Scat Daddy), rolled to the top of the leaderboard about midway through the second day of bidding at the Keeneland September sale after selling to Shadwell Farm for $1.6 million. The Apr. 27 foal was bred in Ontario and consigned to the sale by Anderson Farms and was produced by Orchard Beach (Tapit), a $200,000 graduate of the 2012 September sale, whose produce have now accounted for better than $4 million in turnover at this auction since 2017....

   Longtime owner/breeder Mike Rutherford of Lexington's Manchester Farm fended off several stiff challenges to ultimately land an American Pharaoh half-sister to unbeaten GII Amsterdam S. romper Yaupon (Uncle Mo) for $1.2 million.    The chestnut (hip 291) was consigned to the sale by Bill Betz's Betz Thoroughbreds and bred by Betz, J. Betz, CoCo Equine, former Chicago newscaster Ron Magers and Burns.    "She is beautiful, gorgeous," said Rutherford while rushing out of the sales pavilion. "Best filly I have seen. Let's hope she can run."    Rutherford said...

A colt by Curlin has no shortage of new owners after Gainesway's Alex Solis signed the ticket on hip 282 at $1.2 million Monday at Keeneland. The new partnership includes Mike Repole, Vinnie Viola's St. Elias, Gainesway, John Oxley and Robert Clay's Grandview. "We've been talking about all the colts we liked and I really liked this colt," Solis said after signing the lengthy ticket. "I thought his mother was a pretty special filly. All week long I kept seeing him and thought I'd like to find a way to...

A Clearsky Farm-bred and -consigned daughter of leading sire Into Mischief out of the stakes-placed Mary Rita (Distorted Humor) was hammered down for $1.025 million to Don Adam's Courtlandt Farm to become the first to breach the seven-furlong threshold during the second Book 1 session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington. The Cleary family gave $230,000 for Mary Rita in foal to The Factor at the 2016 Keeneland November sale and her first live foal, a full brother to hip 275, fetched $375,000 as a short yearling at...