By Alan Carasso
With two days of selling in Book 6 yet to come, the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale became the highest-grossing sale in the history of the auction house.
When the gavel fell on hip 3634 not long after 6 p.m. Thursday evening, gross receipts totaled $405,519,500 (not including post-sale transactions) for the first 10 days of trade, breaking the previous high-water mark of $405,495,700 set in 2022. The cumulative average of $174,342 represented a healthy 7.3% bump over the corresponding figure from 2023, while the median price of $95,000 was up 11.8% over last year's figures.
“An achievement of this magnitude is only accomplished by a community of people who share a passion for their horses and the sport of racing,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “We thank our breeders and sellers for the tremendous quality of horses they brought to market and the many buyers from around the world participating in this sale. We are grateful for their strong support of Keeneland.”
Added Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy: “We enjoy collaborating with our customers to create the best sales environment possible. The amazing energy and excitement we saw surrounding Book 1 created momentum that continues to flow through week 2 of the sale. With two sessions still to go, we've got many nice horses yet to be sold.”
During Thursday's 10th session, Keeneland reported sales on 278 horses for $9,306,000. The average of $33,475 was ahead by 4.3% over 2023, while the median price of $26,000 represented a 4% gain. A total of 65 horses were unsold for a buyback rate of 19%.
Beau Liam Filly The Icing On the Cake for Ledgelands
A filly from the first crop of Airdrie Stud's one-time 'TDN Rising Star' Beau Liam (Unbridled's Song) was knocked down to Tom Tatum for $200,000 to top Thursday's second of two Book 5 sessions at the September Sale. A Mar. 5 foal, hip 3375 is out of the three-time maiden Moonlight Kiss (Malibu Moon) and was consigned to the September Sale by Shelley Ritter's Ledgelands LLC. The bay was bred by Ledgelands and Andrew C. Ritter.
“She was just an exquisite individual, very racey, big hip and well- balanced,” Shelley Ritter said when reached by phone just prior to the end of the session. “She just hit the mark from an physical standpoint. She had a lovely walk, a beautiful ground-covering sort of walk.”
Hip 3375 was the third first-crop yearling by Beau Liam to sell for a price of $200,000 or more. Overall, some 19 yearlings have sold from 23 through the ring for an average of $78,947 off an introductory stud fee of $6,000.
“We have traditionally always supported the young stallions at Airdrie and we felt that he would be a good match for the mare,” Ritter said. “He has a very lovely physique and we thought we'd give it a try.”
Beau Liam | Sarah Andrew
Ritter said she acquired Moonlight Kiss off the racetrack after finishing unplaced in Turfway maiden company in March 2021.
“A friend of mine called and asked if I might be interested in a Malibu Moon filly and I said, 'sure, great, why not?'” Ritter offered.
The first foal from Moonlight Kiss is the 2-year-old filly Many Mo Kisses (Mo Town), who was bought back on a bid of $6,500 at last year's Fasig-Tipton October Sale.
“We were going to try to make the 2-year-old sales with her, but we've retained her and she's in training at The Thoroughbred Center,” Ritter said. “[Former jockey] Jimmy Bruin is galloping her and he told us we would not be sorry we kept her.”
Ledgelands offered the first horses through its own consignment at the 2016 September Sale, selling two yearlings for a mere $30,000 combined. By any metric, the consignment's results for this year's sale have exceeded any conceivable expectations. After selling four horses on Thursday, Ledgelands has now accounted for $1.47 million in turnover for eight horses sold, good for an average of $183,750.
Their biggest result came on day three of the sale, when a filly by Yaupon fetched $475,000 from Selective LLC/Cary Bloodstock. Other name buyers to patronize the draft included BSW/Crow, Albaugh Family/West Point/Barry Berkelhammer and Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, while Ledgelands also sold a horse to Saudi Arabian interests.
“It's been unbelievable,” Ritter said. “It's super gratifying to have raised such a filly (Yaupon) and to be recognized for it and this result today is just great.”
Ritter said Ledgelands has a further six horses to sell during Saturday's final day of the September Sale.
Bidding resumes Friday morning at 10 a.m. ET. For full results visit www.keeneland.com.
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