Fast Out of the Gate
Eager to get their hands on the best of the best, buyers at last year’s Keeneland September Yearling Sale jumped at the opportunity from the start, resulting in some of the auction’s most robust trade coming in the first 20 horses that sold. In fact, across-the-board stats from the first 20 hips sold suggest sellers can have confidence in the marketplace to deliver exceptional results from Hip 1 on.
A Closer Look: First 20 Hips vs. the Rest of Book 1
First 20 Hips Sold | Rest of Book 1 | |
---|---|---|
Average | $534,000 | $495,884 |
Median | $537,500 | $435,000 |
RNA Rate | 9.1%* | 13.3% |
An $850,000 Hip 1
Before the start of each session of Book 1, Keeneland hosts a Book 1 Brunch inviting buyers and sellers to the Sales Pavilion to kick off the festivities. In 2022, Book 1 began with a bang when Hip 1, a son of Medaglia d’Oro from the Lane’s End consignment, sold to the partnership of Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds for $850,000. That was the highest price recorded for a horse assigned Hip 1 in the September Sale since at least 1999.
First of Many Seven-Figure Sales Came Early
Reaching the seven-figure mark in 2022 did not take long. Claiborne Farm, agent, paid $1.2 million for Hip 8, a Quality Road filly consigned by Gainesway, agent. The filly was the first of 30 yearlings to surpass the million-dollar mark during the September Sale.
Selling Early Pays Dividends
With some of North America’s most prominent racing groups vying for the early Book 1 yearlings, the first 20 horses that sold brought an average price of $534,000, while the remainder of Book 1 averaged $495,884 and reinforced the benefit of selling early.
Deep Early Buying Bench
A number of prominent buyers were active early during session 1 of the 2022 September Sale. Purchasers of horses sold within the first 20 hips included major racing operations and agents Bach Stables, Gary Barber, Claiborne Farm, Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Juddmonte, Ben McElroy, Little Red Feather, Mayberry Farm, Repole and St. Elias Stables, Mike Ryan, Talla Racing, West Point Thoroughbreds, Eddie Woods and Steve Young.