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Keeneland kicks off 13-session September Yearling Sale
The yearlings in the catalog -- 2,215 colts, 1,962 fillies and four geldings -- represent 246 of the world's elite stallions and freshman sires. The auction begins with the premier Book 1 catalog, which will span the entire opening week with a total of 762 yearlings cataloged alphabetically by dam over the four-day period. The format of the sale is as follows: The catalog features yearlings by such prominent sires as Arch, Awesome Again, Bernardini, Blame, Danehill Dancer, Dansili, Distorted Humor, Dubawi, Empire Maker, Eskendereya, Fastnet Rock, Galileo, Giant's Causeway, Hard Spun, Harlan's Holiday, High Chaparral, Kitten's Joy, Lemon Drop Kid, Lonhro, Lookin at Lucky, Lucky Pulpit, Malibu Moon, Mastercraftsman, Medaglia d'Oro, Montjeu, More Than Ready, Oasis Dream, Pioneerof the Nile, Pulpit, Quality Road, Rip Van Winkle, Roderic O'Connor, Scat Daddy, Sea the Stars, Smart Strike, Speightstown, Street Cry, Street Sense, Super Saver, Tale of the Cat, Tapit, Tiznow, Unbridled's Song, War Front and Warrior's Reward. Also cataloged are yearlings by such young stallions as Archarcharch, Cape Blanco, Desert Party, Drosselmeyer, Gio Ponti, Girolamo, Haynesfield, Munnings, Paddy O'Prado, Sidney's Candy, Tizway, Trappe Shot, Twirling Candy, Uncle Mo and Wilburn. This September, Keeneland has further expanded its on-site client amenities and created special events such as Keeneland Sale Ale and the Jefferson Street Soiree to enhance the sale experience for consignors and buyers as well as the local community. Keeneland and Country Boy Brewing collaborated to produce the new Keeneland Sale Ale, a small-batch beer produced by the local brewery to promote and celebrate the September Sale in the community. The beer is now available on tap at the Keeneland Sales Pavilion and in 40 local restaurants. On Wednesday, Keeneland and VisitLEX's Beyond Grits will present the Jefferson Street Soiree to showcase the September Sale and one of downtown Lexington's culinary and cocktail hot spots. Guests will enjoy food and beverage tastings and live music at the event from 6-10 p.m. For the convenience of consignors and buyers, two food trucks will be parked in the main stable area and will be open from 7 a.m.-1 p.m. Food trucks will rotate throughout the sale. In addition, Keeneland's new Concierge Service will be available to assist sales clients. The team will be based at the information desk inside the main entrance to the Sales Pavilion with representatives available throughout the Sales Pavilion. Hospitality Team members also will drive marked golf carts around the sales grounds to assist clients with moving throughout the barns and to and from the Sales Pavilion. Keeneland also continues to expand its technology service and improve its online sales tools for the convenience of its clients. Keeneland has hardwired the tack room of each barn in the main stable area to provide consistent Internet access for consignors and buyers. Meanwhile, keeneland.com hosts user-friendly tools designed to streamline the sales process for clients. The redesigned "Keeneland Portfolio" maximizes valuable information about horses cataloged and sold at Keeneland sales. This tool provides a number of new and enhanced features which allow clients to create a sortable "short list" of horses; enter evaluation notes including a grade and free-form comments for each horse; and establish text or email alerts on its status, i.e., pedigree updates, when the horse is in the ring, its hammer price and if it has been withdrawn. Clients may also research a horse's Keeneland sales history back to the 1999 July Selected Yearling Sale. The Portfolio enables clients to manage and update their personal account information, and, for the first time, use this tool to apply for credit, check their credit balances, assign authorized agents for their account and monitor their sales transactions throughout the auction. Users also have the freedom to update their contact information. For consignors, Keeneland offers the online "Consignor Portfolio" for managing consignment information, including the ability to check Repository activity, print account summaries and statements on demand, and receive status alerts about their horses. Keeneland.com also features searchable catalogs and results for sales dating back to 1999 as well as sortable lists of stakes-winning Keeneland sales graduates available by year from 2010 to present. This year's sale looks to continue the momentum from the 2013 September Sale, which concluded with strong indicators of resurgence in the Thoroughbred market: gross sales of $280,491,300, the highest since 2008; the sale of 18 yearlings for $1 million or more, the most since 2008; and active participation from a globally deep buying bench that fueled double-digit gains in gross and average price, and a record median. The strength of the 2013 September Sale catalog, coupled with a new sale format that put more buyers in play from the outset, drew enormous crowds that packed the sales grounds through the final day of selling. Demand was high and competition was spirited at all levels as buyers responded to a fair, realistic market. For the complete catalog, latest updates, outs and live video of the sale, visit keeneland.com.
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