Diverse buyer engagement and vibrant activity on the sales grounds have fueled optimism for another historic Keeneland September Yearling Sale, building directly on last year's record-breaking effort, which saw an all-time gross of $531,739,400, including private sales.
A total of 4,642 yearlings are cataloged for the 12-day sale, which begins Sept. 14 at 1:00 p.m. ET.
Buoyed by a strong start to the yearling sales season with the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale posting record results, consignors are highly optimistic about presenting their offerings at Keeneland's prestigious yearling sale.
"It is always a really good indication of what it will be like in September," said Anne Archer Hinkle on the strength of market following the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Sale. "I think a lot of people have big orders to fill because the prices (in Saratoga) were so high. I have high expectations for this sale."
Hinkle is a co-owner and the director of operations at her family's Hinkle Farms, located near Paris, Ky. The Hinkle family has bred Thoroughbreds for more than 50 years.
Hinkle Farms brings a 23-horse draft to the sale, featuring four prominent Book 1 entries, led by Hip 17, a Gun Runner half brother to 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner and top sire, Nyquist .
Hinkle Farms purchased Hip 17's dam, Seeking Gabrielle, in 2013 at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale for $100,000 in foal to Blame . The colt she had earlier that year by Uncle Mo would ultimately become champion Nyquist.
The previous year, Seeking Gabrielle was a $90,000 RNA at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale when she was carrying Nyquist.
The Hinkles have had a lot of success in the sales ring with foals out of Seeking Gabrielle, highlighted most recently by a Curlin filly who sold for $1.2 million to Amo Racing at the 2024 edition of the September Sale.
"The mare has been really, really good to us," Hinkle said. "Her foals always favor the stallion and I see a lot of Gun Runner in him (Hip 17). He has gone over really well at the sale.
"This is an exciting colt to sell, and I think he will do well. He's had a lot of interest and has been able to keep up with the demands of showing all day for three days in a row."
Hinkle said the colt being by Gun Runner has certainly added to his appeal. Three Chimney Farm's marquee stallion currently sits third on the general sires list, behind Taylor Made's Not This Time and Spendthrift Farm's Into Mischief .
At Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Sale, Gun Runner had 10 seven-figure yearlings.
"Everybody wants a Gun Runner and people are willing to stretch for a Gun Runner," Hinkle said. "After seeing them be so well-received at Saratoga, it's a good one to have in your shedrow.
"(The colt) is a special dude for us because the mare has been so good to us. We have a moderate-sized broodmare band, but we're not breeding multiple mares a year to Gun Runner, so this is our one Gun Runner. It's great for us that he's such a nice individual. I think he's going to continue to grow a lot; he has room to grow. It's nice to see him having gone over so well."
Half sister to Englishman On Offer
In a catalog that boasts top pedigrees to current athletes, Hip 271 perfectly exemplifies that, being a half sister to dual grade 1 winner Englishman.
Hip 271 is by 2021 Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mandaloun and out of the winning Speightstown mare In It for the Gold. She was bred in Maryland for Country Life Farm and In It for the Gold Broodmare. Country Life Farm purchased the mare in foal to Authentic at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale for $75,000.
"This is a family that has caught fire since we bought the mare," said John Stuart of Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services and advisor to Country Life Farm. "She was sold right behind her Maxfield foal (Englishman), who brought $240,000 as a weanling, a beautiful little horse.
"And we thought for $75,000 for the mother, we ought to have a go, so we got her for Country Life, and they syndicate them into 10 shares, and try to revive things in Maryland, and here comes the fastest 3-year-old colt in America out of the mare."
Englishman, who races for C R K Stable, blazed onto the racing scene when he equalled the track record during his victory in the Woody Stephens (G1). He followed that effort up with a 3 3/4-length win in the H. Allen Jerkens Memorial Stakes (G1) at Saratoga Race Course.
Stuart explained that knowing the family was full of speed, his hope in breeding to classic winner Mandaloun was to stretch the foal out to a two-turn horse.
"This one is a little stronger and taller than the one we sold last year," Stuart said. "What's interesting about the mare is she tends to throw who she's bred to. I've been in the game a long time and I feel like the mares that throw the stallion are the ones."
Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services will also offer Hip 65, a colt by first-crop sire Forte in Book 1. Forte, the 2022 champion 2-year-old colt, was sold by Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services for $80,000 as a weanling in 2020 to Silver Hill Farm before being picked up by West Bloodstock, agent for Repole Stable and St. Elias for $110,000 as a yearling.
Hip 65 is a half brother to four black-type horses, including last year's Hopeful Stakes (G1) runner-up Buetane. He is out of the Forestry mare Taboo, who is out of grade 1 winner and producer Dream of Summer.
2025 Statistics
Keeneland's historic 2025 September Sale set a high bar, yielding a record total gross and 56 seven-figure sales. While replicating that success presents a challenge, neither consignors nor Keeneland's vice president of sales, Tony Lacy, believes it is unattainable.
Last year's sale saw a record across all metrics, including a $531,739,400 gross, an average price of $172,755, and a median of $80,000. The highest-priced horse was a colt by Gun Runner who sold for $3.3 million to M.V. Magnier, White Birch Farm and Winchell Thoroughbreds.
Repole Stable was the leading buyer with 33 purchases totaling $14,155,000. The leading consignor of the sale was Taylor Made Sales Agency, which sold 418 head from its draft for gross receipts of $68,515,000.
Lacy said this year's catalog is one of the strongest catalogs they have ever put together.
The world's largest Thoroughbred auction continues to produce top-class runners year after year. In 2026, Keeneland September graduates included Kentucky Oaks (G1) winner Always a Runner, Arkansas Derby (G1) winner Renegade, the aforementioned Englishman, and Hopeful Stakes (G1) winner The Good Life, just to name a few.
"I think we've seen a very positive environment where people are excited about the sport," Lacy said. "I think that is so positive. We see some of our competitors having sales that are record-breaking. That makes us excited because that is coming right back to us, and we're very confident in the quality of the catalog we've put together.
"We're so appreciative of the breeders and the consignors that have entrusted us. This is probably one of the strongest, if not the strongest catalog we've seen in recent memory. And we've got a young sire population that is extremely promising. Not only the first-season sires and the young horses having their first runners, but also Gun Runner, Not This Time, and a deep bench of successful sires."
Lacy said one of Keeneland's biggest challenges in placing horses throughout the different books is the larger foal crops coming from particular sires. He explained there is often a polarization of some sires and a lack of support for others.
"We have to make sure that we protect the marketplace, not just for the breeder, but also for the stallion farms," he said. "We don't have a concentration of one particular sire or a sire line that is condensed into a small part of the sale, because there's only so much demand for the rotation of the buyers. We want to make sure there's an equal distribution and diversity as well. So that's a very, very important part of the process."
Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales echoed Lacy's thoughts on the optimism going into the sale.
"I feel like it's one of my very best Book 1 groups that I've brought in a long time. There's such a good, solid group of well-conformed horses. I'm excited about what's coming.
"I think with the traffic that we've seen and the optimism from a lot of people who want to be a part of the industry, (it's) very encouraging. I see a lot of new faces, and I think it's great for our sport."
The sale gets underway Monday with Hips 1-184 slated to head to the ring.
This year's format remains the same with Books 1 and 2 taking place during the first four days of the September Sale and a "dark day" with no selling taking place scheduled for Sept. 18. The September Sale will resume Sept. 19 with a two-day Book 3, two-day Book 4, and a four-day Book 5. Book 5 will be divided into Book 5A (Sept. 23-24) and Book 5B (Sept. 25-26). This reflects the increased caliber of horses represented in the catalog.
"My expectations are this sale is going to be a barn burner," said Kitty Day, owner of Warrendale Sales. "Our traffic has been phenomenal at the barn. We're seeing tons of Europeans, tons of Japanese. They're all here. And with the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' all the Americans are lining up to buy these horses too."
As of Sunday evening, Keeneland had reported 34 outs for the first session.
