Ahead of the recently completed Keeneland September Yearling Sale, vice president of sales Tony Lacy said the Keeneland inspection team saw a high level of consistency and quality throughout the 3,539 horses offered Sept. 9-21.
The quality shone through as the Lexington sales company celebrated a record gross of $427.8 million and a record $148,130 average (both statistics including private sales). The median of $70,000 equaled the sale's record.
An analysis of the sale's results by decile shows where the consistency contributed to the record-setting results.
Sure, a $5 million sale topper is a big contributor to the gross, but a 4.3% increase in the average for the top decile—the top 10% of horses sold—is a more substantial influence. The top decile average was $651,972 compared to $624,913 last year and $605,320 in 2022, when the September sale set its previous record by gross ($418,271,200).
The top five deciles for this year's sale all reported significant growth in average price, while last year only the top two among the top six deciles reported gains compared with the 2022 sale. The biggest gains this year were seen in the fourth decile, representing yearlings that sold in the $100,000-$150,000 range. This decile averaged $127,211, which was 8.8% higher than the same decile of 2023, which was represented by the same price range. More horses, however, sold within the decile this year slid toward the higher end, as shown by the fourth decile median, which was $130,000 for this year compared with $120,000 a year ago.
Only two deciles this year showed significant decline—the eighth and ninth deciles that include horses sold in the $9,000-$30,000 range. The biggest drop occurred in the ninth decile (horses selling for $9,000-$17,000), which showed a 6.3% drop in average to $13,076 from $13,960 a year ago.
Interestingly, the bottom decile—horses sold for $1,000-$9,000—reported a 1.9% increase in average, even though the high end of the price range a year ago was $10,000. The increase in average is minor but as a comparison, the bottom decile of 2023 showed a 14% decrease in the average.
"The energy here was at times reminiscent of another era," said Lacy. "When the horses showed up at the sale, it verified our expectations. The market was very broad-based. We saw new faces and welcomed back people we haven't seen in years from all over the world who returned because of their confidence in the U.S. industry and Keeneland being a global marketplace."
Among the contributing factors cited for the renewed confidence in the U.S. industry are rich purse levels across the country driving demand for racehorses; the success of American-bred horses racing around the world; and stronger medication regulations at racetracks and auctions.
Cormac Breathnach, senior director of sales operations, said the high quality offered during the September sale attracted an especially deep bench of buyers.
"The most gratifying thing for us is to see buyers from 31 countries who have bought from the September Sale catalog," he said. "Twenty-four different buyers bought the 36 seven-figure horses, which is a record in terms of the number of individual people who have participated at that level, both international and domestic. That's the market we try to provide the people who support us. There is a lot of effort by our team to pay back the people who send us these beautifully prepped and well-bred and well-raised athletes."
