Keeneland opened its prestigious Keeneland September Sale with a three-day stretch of high-priced horses as 346 top-end yearling Thoroughbreds went through the auction ring with strong economic indicators.
The sale’s first three days encompassed horses organized into the catalogue’s first book, which represented those selected by Keeneland as the cream of this year’s crop in terms of pedigree, physical condition and conformation.
Historically, the first book brings the seven-figure price tags when the market is good, which is why it was surprising when the first two days brought just two million-dollar horses between them. Wednesday’s sale made up the slack with six horses at or exceeding the $1 million mark.
The sale’s overall topper was a $3 million colt by stallion Scat Daddy out of Leslie’s Lady, making him a half brother to multiple Eclipse Award-winning race mare Beholder. (Beholder likely will be among the most talked-about horses heading into this year’s Breeders’ Cup, already holding two wins in the series.) M.V. Magnier, agent for Irish bloodstock giant Coolmore, signed the sales ticket for the colt.
Although it may seem somewhat kooky to pay more than $1 million for a horse that is not yet old enough to be ridden, much less have set foot on the track, it’s part of a high-risk business model that has been part of the Thoroughbred auction business for a long time.
Robert Sangster, who invested in the group that eventually became Coolmore, was one of the early pioneers of buying yearlings at eyebrow-raising prices. His interest was not in their value as racehorses (which in most cases, was unlikely to be recouped in purse money) but his anticipation the well-pedigreed colts would be tremendously valuable when they retired to stud. Sangster’s claim to fame was a yearling eventually named The Minstrel, who cost $200,000 at sale in 1975 and won the English and Irish derbies before being sold to a syndicate upon retirement for $9 million.
As Sangster and Coolmore’s success increased, so did their budget — as did the budgets of other bloodstock investors tracking their business plan.
At Keeneland’s now-defunct July Sale in 1984, an astonishing 33 horses sold for $1 million or more, and average prices for yearlings had doubled from 15 years earlier. The heady mid-1980s market was due, in part, because of a tax structure that more strongly favored Thoroughbred owners, in addition to increased competition among Coolmore and other heavy-hitting buyers.
The 1980s market crashed toward the end of the decade and has gone through a couple of cycles of recovery and depression since. While this year’s eight million-dollar horses seems paltry compared to 1984’s blockbuster July sale, Keeneland o cials pointed out that the $3 million brother of Beholder is the highest price paid for a yearling at Keeneland Septem- ber since 2010.
The market is a very different now. More budget-conscious buyers (even the well-funded ones) stalled out the bidding several times as it passed $900,000 during this year’s first book. Most officials categorize it as more sensible, and more hesitant than in years past but a good place to sell a really high-quality horse.
Overall figures for Book 1 were positive: the average price of $300,000 was up 20 percent, while the median of $347,471 was up 14.6 percent. Total sales were down, but the number of horses entered in Book 1 was also reduced. The rate of horses not attaining their minimum price (reserve) held steady.
There was one much-discussed horse failing to meet his reserve: the first yearling to come to auction out of $10 million broodmare and multiple Eclipse Award-winner Havre de Grace was listed as a no-sale after getting a bid of $1.9 million. According to her statements to media, breeder Mandy Pope had intended to enter the horse with a lower reserve and initially thought her horse had sold; it was only after the hammer fell she was informed there had been a mistake and the reserve price entered had not been attained. She said the colt, which is by War Front, is still for sale privately, as he may not be run back through the ring.