Entries Open April 1 • Entry Deadline May 1
EVERY Moment MATTERS
Entries Open April 1 • Entry Deadline May 1
THE CENTER OF THE THOROUGHBRED WORLD
Dear Keeneland Customers,
Thanks to you, the 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale made history. Buyers from around the world came together here, creating an atmosphere of global competition for 4,000 yearlings defined by their exceptional quality.
The results speak for themselves: more than a half-billion dollars in sales, record participation and a buying bench unlike any other in the industry. These achievements send a clear signal of confidence and strength in the future of our sport.
This year Keeneland stands at the center of the industry, with this global sales marketplace and world-class racing sharing the same stage. To meet this moment, we’ve invested in new facilities and elevated hospitality spaces. Now more than ever, this is the place where sellers can showcase their yearlings, buyers can engage with confidence and our industry can connect, grow and thrive.
Momentum is not accidental. It grows through careful planning and intention – in a place purpose-built for what comes next.
In 2026, Keeneland is where the Thoroughbred world comes together—where momentum continues and the future takes shape.
It’s where you belong in 2026, and we can’t wait to welcome you.
SHANNON ARVIN President & CEO
TONY LACY Vice President of Sales
THE HIGHEST-GROSSING THOROUGHBRED AUCTION IN HISTORY
The 2025 September Sale established a historic benchmark. With record participation and strong economic performance, buying power was evident at every level.
Selling at Keeneland comes with a clear advantage: an unmatched auction team, world-class hospitality and the full force of the global Thoroughbred industry.
RECORD
$531.7 Million Gross Sales
INCLUDING POST SALES. SURPASSING LAST YEAR’S RECORD GROSS IN SESSION 6
Keeneland having a big sale just puts more money into purses, more money into a world-class experience when you come race in Central Kentucky. These things are so positive and gives us a lot of optimism for the future. It is one ecosystem and when those parts are healthy and they all come together, great things happen.”
MARK TAYLOR Taylor Made
56 Seven-Figure Yearlings Purchased by 34 Buyers RECORD RECORD
266 Yearlings Sold for $500,000+ Representing
60 Consignors
18 Different Buyers Spent $5 Million+
120 Different Buyers Spent $1 Million+
This is Keeneland–it’s probably the best place to sell a horse in the world. You have a very broad domestic buying base and a lot of significant buyers from Europe and from Japan. The traffic is strong, and the quality rises to the top.
If you’re in the horse business, this is the place to be.”
MICHAEL HERNON
Michael Hernon Bloodstock
THE TOP OF THE MARKET
Week 1 of the 2025 September Sale showed why Keeneland is the engine of the North American yearling market.
International participation and broad domestic demand competed for the highest-level quality and set the record-breaking sale in motion.
When you sell in Week 1 of Keeneland September, you access the largest concentration of serious buyers, consistently and at scale.
$320,521,500 Week 1 Gross Sales INCLUDING POST SALES RECORD
Week 1 Average WEEK 1
$458,479
$350,000 Week 1 Median
22.1%
Week 1 RNA Rate
110 Buyers Purchased
238 Yearlings for $500,000+ Representing
58 Consignors
80 Different Buying Entities Spent $1 Million+
Keeneland has always been our main port of call. It’s been an unbelievably lucky place for us, and everybody comes here to shop. We’ve sometimes struggled in the earlier years–in the boutique markets–but when we’ve come to Keeneland, their broader client base has always helped us. We love selling here and we love buying here.
PETER O'CALLAGHAN Woods Edge Farm
15.7% Book 1 RNA Rate RECORD $150,225,000 Book 1 Gross Sales INCLUDING POST SALES
RECORD
$550,000 Median $664,447 Average RECORD
136 Yearlings Sold for $500,000+ to 71 Different Buyers
51 Different Buyers Spent $1 Million+
“It’s incredible. I don’t think we’ve seen anything like this since Keeneland July in the 80s, with Sheikh Mohammed and Robert Sangster. It’s unbelievable… People come here to have a good time and the electricity of the auction is incredible. If you can’t find them here, you can’t find them anywhere.”
MIKE RYAN
Mike Ryan Bloodstock
YOUR WORDS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES
The true measure of the marketplace is reflected in those who trust it most. Their perspectives define why Keeneland September remains the industry’s barometer, and why the world’s leading buyers return, year after year.
We really appreciate everything that Keeneland does for us. We don’t really want to sell anywhere else. We trust that they’ve got our best interest in mind. I’m glad that when we do well, Keeneland does well."
ANNE ARCHER HINKLE
Hinkle Farms
It’s an international place to do business. Everyone from around the world will be here and it couldn’t be any better.”
BRIAN GRAVES
Gainesway Farm
In fairness to Keeneland, they do a great job. They’ve got all the right people here and there’s good horses here.”
M.V. MAGNIER
Coolmore
It is a first-class operation. We’re very happy to come here and buy horses.”
DENNIS ALBAUGH
Albaugh Family Stables
It’s the heartbeat of the industry, this sale. There is arguably no better place in the world with the concentration of high-end buyers and high-end horses. What [Keeneland] does day in and day out, and what they’re putting into the infrastructure…the overall momentum it gives the industry is great.”
AIDAN O’MEARA
Stonehaven Steadings
What Keeneland does, it’s 10 out of 10, top-class, best in the world.”
DOMENIC SAVIDES
Every success in this ring directly supports the people, the horses and the initiatives that keep our sport thriving. These dollars go right back into everything we do here at Keeneland, from purses to infrastructure to aftercare and more. All of it helps fuel the future of the sport, and that’s a real win for everyone.”
TONY LACY Keeneland Sales
EVERY MOMENT MATTERS
Selling a yearling at Keeneland is larger than a transaction. Each fall of the gavel is an opportunity to change the lives of our sellers, create new possibilities for our buyers and strengthen the industry and the sport we all love–because every dollar generated is reinvested in the future of racing.
DON'T MISS A SINGLE MOMENT
Global sales, elite racing and industry influence converge here this year. The momentum begins at the start of the year and flows through the fall, holding the world’s attention right here at Keeneland.
April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale
APRIL 24 • ENTRY DEADLINE FOR PRINT CATALOG APRIL 1
Spring Race Meet
APRIL 3 – 24
September Yearling Sale
SEPTEMBER 14 – 26 • ENTRY DEADLINE MAY 1
Fall Race Meet
OCTOBER 2 – 24
Championship Sale at the Breeders’ Cup
OCTOBER 28 • NOMINATIONS DUE OCTOBER 8
Breeders’ Cup World Championships
OCTOBER 30 – 31
November Breeding Stock Sale
NOVEMBER 3 – 10 • ENTRY DEADLINE AUGUST 3
November Horses of Racing Age Sale
NOVEMBER 11 • ENTRY DEADLINE FOR PRINT CATALOG OCTOBER 1
