During Keeneland’s 15-day September Yearling Sale, four stallions – A.P. Indy, Storm Cat, Distorted Humor , and Seeking the Gold – had sale averages and medians exceeding $300,000 for their offspring.
In addition, 11 stallions topped the $200,000 average and median levels and 27 sires had both average and medians in excess of $100,000.
Those statistics are among the plethora of conclusions that emerged from the Sept. 10-25 sale, based on data generated by BloodHorseNOW.com.
The extensive sire statistics, as well as the broodmare sire, stud fee, regional and international sire lists, and profitability data are included in a free 25-page “Data Digest” produced as a PDF for BloodHorseNOW.com subscribers. These tables not only provide insight into the specifics of the sale just completed, but also chart historical trends for the sale.
Numbers-crunching is an annual rite of fall for most breeders, their agents, and stallion managers as they pore over the results to see which trends are emerging and where changes need to be made. Their conclusions have far-reaching effects on upcoming mixed sales, next year’s breeding season, and the following year’s yearling sales.
Among other noteworthy insights gleaned from “Data Digest”:
-- Not only was A.P. Indy the leading sire by average and median prices, but he also emerged at the top of the broodmare sire list, with 46 yearlings sold out of his mares for an average price of $255,152.
-- Although Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I) winner Smarty Jones was the leading first-crop sire by average, 43.1% of his yearlings offered were bought back by their owners.
-- Two second-crop sires (Mineshaft and Vindication) each had yearlings bring in excess of $1 million.
-- Street Cry was leading third-crop sire, with only a 17.2% RNA rate.
-- According to the breakdown of Keeneland sires by region, there were only two non-Kentucky sires from the Midwest represented in the sale.
-- All five of the yearlings through the ring sired by Irish-based Galileo sold, with the $279,000 average topping the international sires’ list.
-- There were three black yearlings sold for an average price of $11,333; the largest category by color were the bays, with 1,497 sold.
If information is key to success in any venture, these September sale statistics should help many within the industry as they make key decisions affecting their breeding and sales programs.