Some of the thoroughbred industry’s leading buyers kept their wallets closed — or didn’t dig as deep as usual — but the Keeneland September Yearling Sale still saw its best results since the recession, thanks to spirited buying at all levels of the market by all kinds of buyers.
The sale, the largest of its kind in the world, posted gains in nearly every category as it ended its 13-day run Friday.
The average sale price of $87,354 was up 14.17 percent, while the median of $45,000 was up 50 percent from last year. Before the sale, few expected the gross sales would be close to last year’s number, but they wound up just $3.7 million — just a handful of high quality sales — behind the mark.
Also, a greater percentage of horses exceeded the reserves their sellers set this year than last. The percentage that failed to meet their reserves was 19.2, compared with 20.82 percent last year.