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

Last updated: 7/6/15 3:51 PM

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:

  • Book 1 (Monday-Wednesday, September 14-16) -- The September Sale

    opens with the premier Book 1 catalog, which will span three days versus

    four previously. Sessions will begin an hour earlier at 11 a.m.

    (EDT). Yearlings will continue to be cataloged alphabetically by dam. 

     

  • Dark Day, Thursday, September 17 -- The break will move from

    Friday of opening week to Thursday.

     

  • Book 2 (Friday-Saturday, September 18-19) -- Sessions begin at 10

    a.m.

     

  • Book 3-6 (Sunday-Saturday, September 20-26) -- Sessions begin at

    10 a.m.

  • 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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