Lexington, Ky. - Powered by two large dispersal sales, premium fillies and mares and some willing buyers, the final numbers from the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale show it beating the 2010 total sales figures by more than 40 percent.
The two dispersals - Edward P. Evans' Spring Hill Farm and Prince Saud bin Khaled's Palides Investments N.V., Inc., produced the two highest-priced Thoroughbreds of the sale. Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic winner Royal Delta, who sold for $8.5 million, was part of the Palides dispersal, while Christmas Kid, a Grade 1 stakes-winning mare from the Evans dispersal, earned the sale's second-highest price of $4.2 million.
"The dispersals created global excitement and infused the sale with an energy and momentum that carried throughout the remaining sessions," said Keeneland Vice President of Sales Walt Robertson. "Our focus has centered on the recruitment of quality race mares, and that strategy has really reaped rewards. And the strong market gives sellers the confidence to offer those types of mares at Keeneland."
Benjamin Leon and his Besilu Stables of Florida bought Royal Delta as well as the auction's third- and fifth-highest priced horses as the biggest spender of the sale. He bought a total of nine horses for $22.4 million. Frank Stronach's Adena Springs operations was the second biggest buyer, paying $10.68 million for seven horses.
Lane's End, which handled the Evans dispersal, was by far the top consignor.
Twenty-three horses sold for $1 million or more, eclipsing the eight $1 million-plus sales recorded during the 2010 November Sale.
Gross receipts for the 11-day sale rose 41.4 percent as 2,554 lots sold for $208,511,200 compared to last year's 13-day sale when 2,929 horses brought $147,392,900. Cumulatively, average price of $81,641 increased 62.2 percent from $50,322 in 2010, while the median of $24,000 was up 41.1 percent from last year's $17,000.