Keeneland Photo
82nd September Yearling Sale
Keeneland Release
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Keeneland’s September Yearling Sale, internationally recognized as the premier source of Thoroughbreds who excel in the sport’s most important races, has cataloged 4,686 horses to be offered over 12 sessions from Monday, Sept. 8 through Saturday, Sept. 20. Click here for the online catalog of yearlings in the 82nd edition of the auction.
Print catalogs are scheduled to start arriving in the mail the week of Aug. 18.
Last year, the September Sale was the world’s highest-grossing Thoroughbred auction in history with more than $428 million in sales for 2,894 horses. A total of 36 yearlings sold for $1 million or more, marking the highest number since 2006. The average of $147,926 and the median of $70,000 both were records.
“The September Sale is the largest and most important auction of its kind, and Keeneland feels a great responsibility to ensure its success,” Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. “The strength of this year’s catalog and the increased number of entries are a direct reflection of the industry’s confidence in the marketplace. We welcome buyers from around the world who come to Keeneland September in search of racing excellence – and they find it. Recent graduates like Mindframe, the top older horse in the U.S.; Ruling Court, winner of the 2000 Guineas (G1) at Newmarket in England, and more Grade 1 winners than all North American auction houses combined are proof the next star can be purchased here.”
September Sale schedule
Catalog for 12-session auction now online
For the fifth consecutive year, Books 1 and 2 during the first four days of the September Sale have cataloged more than 1,000 yearlings judged to be the auction’s finest individuals based on conformation and on such pedigree factors as family sales history, distaff pedigree and sire power. This placement enables major domestic and international buyers to inspect the largest number of exceptional horses possible before the “dark day” on Friday, Sept. 12 when no sale will be held.
The auction will resume Saturday, Sept. 13 and again follow its original 12-day schedule but will have a two-part Book 5. Horses in Book 5Awill sell Wednesday, Sept. 17 and Thursday, Sept. 18. Yearlings in Book 5B will sell Friday, Sept. 19 and Saturday, Sept. 20.
“While this shift in terminology is subtle, we believe it more accurately reflects the quality of these sessions and drives the right buyer engagement – ensuring these yearlings receive the buyers and attention they deserve,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “Several encouraging developments have driven this decision: the strength of the individuals, the continued growth of the catalog and the evolving commercial breeding practices that continue to raise the overall standard on offer. This has resulted in a depth and consistency of quality across all 12 days of the sale unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
Strategic placement of all the yearlings throughout the catalog is intended to ensure visibility and to allow buyers to encounter diversity at every stage of the sale. In recent years, Keeneland has seen sustained interest from leading buyers all the way through the final day, a powerful indicator of the sale’s strength.
“The September Sale continues to attract more buyers than any other yearling sale in the world, and we are committed to structuring the sale in a way that supports the success of our sellers across every level of the market,” Keeneland Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said.
Here is the September Sale schedule:
Week 1
Book 1 – Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 8-9. Sessions begin at 1 p.m. ET. Monday’s catalog has 180 horses. Tuesday’s catalog has 181 horses.
Book 2 – Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 10-11. Sessions begin at 11 a.m. Wednesday’s catalog has 392 horses. Thursday’s catalog has 382 horses.
Dark Day – Friday, Sept. 12. No sale will be conducted.
Week 2
Book 3 – Saturday-Sunday, Sept. 13-14. Sessions begin at 10 a.m. Saturday’s catalog has 424 horses. Sunday’s catalog has 423 horses.
Book 4 – Monday-Tuesday, Sept. 15-16. Sessions begin at 10 a.m. Monday’s catalog has 420 horses. Tuesday’s catalog has 419 horses.
Book 5A – Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 17-18. Sessions begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday’s catalog has 425 horses. Thursday’s catalog has 426 horses.
Book 5B – Friday-Saturday, Sept. 19-20. Sessions begin at 10 a.m. The catalog for each session has 507 horses.
Keeneland will livestream the entire September Sale at Keeneland.com. As always, online and phone bidding will be available.
Stallion selection
Yearlings in the September Sale catalog – 2,398 colts and 2,288 fillies – represent 189 established stallions and exciting young sires. Notably, more than 1,400 yearlings are by stallions with their initial sales yearlings, including Horse of the Year Flightline. He is the sire of 63 horses in the catalog.
“This year’s catalog features nearly double the number of yearlings by first-crop sires compared to last year, including 11 stallions that stood for $25,000 or more,” Breathnach said. “This speaks to the exceptional depth of this year’s sale and the level of quality that buyers can expect to find when they come to Keeneland in September.”
Additional sires represented by their first crops of September Sale yearlings include champions Corniche, Epicenter and Jackie’s Warrior; Kentucky Derby (G1) winner Mandaloun; Preakness (G1) winner Early Voting; Belmont (G1) winners Mo Donegal and Sir Winston; Breeders’ Cup winners Aloha West, Golden Pal and Life Is Good; additional Grade/Group 1 winners Cyberknife, Drain the Clock, Happy Saver, Idol, Jack Christopher, Mystic Guide, Olympiad, Pinehurst and Speaker’s Corner; and successful runners Greatest Honour, Highly Motivated, Nashville, Sacred Life (FR), Tale of Silence and Title Ready.
This group joins such popular sires as American Pharoah, Candy Ride (ARG), Charlatan, City of Light, Complexity, Constitution, Curlin, Essential Quality, Ghostzapper, Girvin, Good Magic, Gun Runner, Hard Spun, Into Mischief, Justify, Kingman (GB), Liam’s Map, Maclean’s Music, Maxfield, McKinzie, Medaglia d’Oro, Munnings, Night of Thunder (IRE), No Nay Never, Not This Time, Nyquist, Oscar Performance, Practical Joke, Quality Road, Speightstown, Street Sense, Tapit, Tiz the Law, Twirling Candy, Uncle Mo, Upstart, Vekoma, Violence, War Front, Wootton Bassett (GB) and Yaupon.
Graduates win around the world
Graduates of the September Sale have won 232 stakes around the world this year through Aug. 4 with notable victories across North America as well as in England, France, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and United Arab Emirates.
On Aug. 2, five September Sale graduates captured graded stakes during the premier meets at Saratoga and Del Mar. Saratoga winners were Deterministic (FanDuel Fourstardave-G1), Kilwin (Test-G1 Presented by Ticketmaster), World Beater (Saratoga Derby Invitational-G1) and Ewing (Saratoga Special-G2). At Del Mar, Seismic Beauty won the Clement L. Hirsch (G1) Presented by Oak Tree Racing Association.
Additional North American Grade 1 winners in 2025 who are alumni of the September Sale include Ag Bullet (Jaipur), Cavalieri (B. Wayne Hughes Beholder Mile Presented by FanDuel TV), Deterministic (Resorts World Casino Manhattan), Fionn (Belmont Oaks Invitational), Formidable Man (Frank E. Kilroe Mile), Kopion (Derby City Distaff Presented by Kendall-Jackson Winery), Locked (Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino), Mindframe (Churchill Downs Stakes Presented by Ford and Stephen Foster), Raging Sea (La Troienne), Raging Torrent (Hill ‘n’ Dale Metropolitan), Scottish Lassie (Coaching Club American Oaks Invitational), She Feels Pretty(New York Stakes Presented by Rivers Casino) andSpirit of St Louis (Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Presented by Qatar Racing and Old Forester Bourbon Turf Classic).
The September Sale also has produced these international Group 1 winners this year: Dark Saffron (Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Nakheel at Meydan in the United Arab Emirates) and Ruling Court (Betfred 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in England).
