Hitting the wire Monday after its longest ever run, the Keeneland September yearling sale upped its world record gross for a Thoroughbred auction to $324,904,300. The other final figures for the 14 sessions of 3,370 horses sold, an average price of $96,411, and a median price of $37,000 all were September records. In addition, a Storm Cat-- Welcome Surprise colt set another September mark when he sold for $8 million early in the auction.Compared to a year ago, when there were 12 sessions, the number of horses sold and gross revenue for the Central Kentucky auction were up 13.5% and 18.5%, respectively, based on Keeneland's calculations. The average and median increased 4.4% and 8.8%, respectively.The buy-back rate stayed about the same, rising slightly from 22.3% last year to 22.7% this year."It's beyond our wildest dreams," said Keeneland's director of sales Geoffrey Russell. "Any way you analyze it, the sale was a tremendous success. It was strong from day one to day 14."What pleased us the most was that the middle market was as strong as we believed it would be. The median was up every day (for which there was a comparable session in 2003) and that shows the money was being spread around more evenly."During Monday's final session, the 136 horses sold grossed $1,160,500 and averaged $8,533. The median was $6,000. The highest-priced horse was an Arch -- Time for Jazz colt that brought $60,000. Twin Spires , agent, purchased session topper from Forbush Farm, agent.
Results, leading buyer, leading consignor, leading sire lists from Keeneland
