The 2024 Keeneland September yearling sale has already become the highest-grossing edition of this sale in history, with two days of trade still remaining – and is poised to make a run at its other records as it heads toward the finish line this weekend.
Through Book 5 of the six-book auction, and 10 of 12 sessions overall, Keeneland reported 2,326 horses sold through the ring – not counting any later private sales on the grounds – for gross receipts of $405,519,500. That surpasses the 2022 edition of the auction, when 2,847 horses sold over its 12 sessions for a record $405,495,700 before private sales. This year’s sale will finish with the record figure by any count. There are already 133 additional private sales published for the gross to sit at $420,632,000. The 2022 sale finished with 118 private sales added for a total gross of $418,353,700.
The September sale’s cumulative average price currently sits at $174,342 from horses sold through the ring, up 7 percent from the same point of the 2023 sale, when the average was $162,479 at the end of Book 5. The median is up a solid 12 percent, at $95,000 compared to $85,000.
Although the average and median figures will drop somewhat in the final days of the auction, the figures will be in territory of the sale records in those categories. The Keeneland September record average is $141,489, set last year. The record median is $70,000 in 2022.
The cumulative buyback rate for this sale is 24 percent, compared to 22 percent at this point last year.
“We enjoy collaborating with our customers to create the best sales environment possible,” said Tony Lacy, Keeneland’s vice president of sales. “The amazing energy and excitement we saw surrounding Book 1 created momentum that continues to flow through week two of the sale. With two sessions still to go, we’ve got many nice horses yet to be sold.”
The top price of the two-session Book 5 segment that just concluded was a $350,000 son of rising young sire Not This Time, purchased in Wednesday’s opening session of the book by Justin Casse.
The April colt, consigned by Woods Edge Farm, as agent, is out of the unraced Cape Town mare Running Creek, dam of 12 winners from as manty starters. Those are led by Grade 3 winner Easy Time, a full brother to this colt. She also is the dam of stakes winner Softly Lit; and stakes-placed Venice Queen, dam of two stakes-placed runners.
Keeneland September concludes with the two-session Book 6 on Friday and Saturday. For hip-by-hip results to this point, click here.
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