Keeneland September trims Book 1 to three days, moves dark day to Thursday

Keeneland September trims Book 1 to three days, moves dark
day to Thursday

Keeneland officials made the changes in response to consignors and buyers (Keeneland Photo) Keeneland sales officials Monday announced an adjustment to the opening week schedule for the 2015 September Yearling Sale, the world’s premier Thoroughbred auction, to be held September 14-26. This year’s September Sale will open with a three-day Book 1, spanning Monday-Wednesday, September 14-16, one day less than previously. The sale’s traditional “dark day,” when no sales are conducted, will move from Friday of opening week to Thursday, September 17. The Book 2 sale will be conducted Friday-Saturday, September 18-19, followed by Books 3-6 beginning Sunday, September 20. “Offering the highest-quality catalogs and conveniences to our clients is Keeneland’s No. 1 goal, and these tweaks will further streamline the sales process and enhance momentum for the whole sale,” Keeneland President & CEO Bill Thomason said. “We’ve listened to our consignors and buyers, who prefer a tighter Book 1, offering more horses each day over fewer days and starting earlier,” Keeneland Director of Sales Geoffrey Russell said. “They also want a more immediate, smoother transition to Book 2 horses. This change affords buyers the opportunity to inspect a greater number of horses during Week 1.”

Book 2 horses will now be available for buyer inspection beginning Wednesday,
September 16. In previous years, which featured a four-day Book 1 and a break on
Friday, Week 1 buyers were exposed only to Book 2 horses through Sunday. A
three-day Book 1 offers Week 1 buyers the ability to inspect Book 1, Book 2 and
some Book 3 horses.

The stabling format will return to a traditional barn rotation, with Book 1
horses in Barns 1-24 and Book 2 horses in Barns 25-49.

The format for the 2015 September Sale will be as follows:

Keeneland’s September Sale annually attracts the world’s major foreign and
domestic buyers, top trainers and bloodstock advisers, and prominent juvenile
sales consignors. The sale is globally regarded as the primary barometer of the
health of the Thoroughbred industry.

Results for the 2014 September Sale were nearly equal to 2013, continuing a
healthy trend toward market stability and confidence in the Thoroughbred
industry. Trade in the upper middle market (horses sold for $400,000 or more)
proved exceptionally strong, with 13 horses selling for $1 million or more in
Book 1. The highest-priced yearling of each session during Book 2 and Week 2 of
last year’s sale exceeded the top price for the corresponding session in 2013,
further indicating the sale’s strong performance. In each of those sessions, a
yearling sold for $100,000 or more.

Keeneland will provide live coverage of the entire 2015 September Sale
at keeneland.com.

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