The number of horses consigned to Keeneland's September yearling sale is down for the second year in a row. But the Central Kentucky auction still ranks as the largest of its kind in the world.
Sale records were established for gross revenue and average price during the Doncaster breeze-up auction, which ended its two-day run on Friday in England.
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A Maria's Mon colt produced from Madeira M'dear (by Black Tie Affair) brought a top bid of $575,000 to top Friday's fourth session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The colt, sired by the same sire of this year's Kentucky Derby winner Monarchos, was consigned by Michael T. Barnett's Blackburn Farm, as agent.
The North American yearling market continued to show strength Thursday as three colts brought final bids in excess of seven figures during the third session of Keeneland's September Yearling Sale. The day's average price rose 21.3% over the comparable session one year ago.
Wednesday began with a lot of questions for the Keeneland Association, mostly surrounding what effect the terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C. on Tuesday would have on resumption of the September Yearling Sale. By the end of the day, the sales company in Lexington, Ky. had gotten affirmation that the right decision had been made. There was competitive bidding between buyers from North America, Europe, and Middle Eastern countries during the session, which was highlighted by a Storm Cat colt sold for $6.4 million.
As Keeneland resumed its September Yearling Sale on Wednesday after a one-day postponement, the sales company announced establishment of a relief fund to assist those impacted by events in New York City and Washington, D.C.
With Keeneland's decision to postpone the second day of the September yearling sale due to the apparent terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., many buyers and sellers were left in limbo. One thing was certain: horses and the sales were secondary.
Due to the plane attacks on the World Trade Center in New York, and reports of possible terrorist acts in Washington, D.C., the Keeneland Association postponed the Tuesday session of its September yearling sale and rescheduled it for Wednesday.
Powered by big-spending Maktoum family from Dubai, the Keeneland September yearling sale blasted off like a rocket on Sept. 10. The first of the auction's two select sessions established opening day records for average price and median. In addition, the second-most-expensive horse in the auction's history, a $5.5- million Storm Cat colt, was sold.
Because of September's large size and the diversity of its offerings, the Central Kentucky auction is the best barometer of the yearling market's health in North America.
Add Payson Stud to the list of farms consigning yearlings to the upcoming Fasig-Tipton New York Select yearling sale at Saratoga, as well as the Keeneland September and the October Fasig-Tipton yearling sale.
Keeneland sale continued
In an era when auction records are common, the Keeneland September yearling sale stood out in terms of size and strength.
With two days remaining in Keeneland's record-breaking September yearling sale, the cumulative average price of $98,149 for the 2,930 horses sold represents a 26.8% increase over the $77,390 average for last year's sale.
