Insights

Sale breakdowns, catalog analysis, market commentary and case studies.

  1. What Happened to the 2023 Stallion Class Once the Horses Started Running

    The 2023 stallion class sold its second Keeneland September crop with racetrack evidence in hand. Fourteen of 18 sires lost median value, and black-type breadth separated the four that rose.

  2. What a Record September Says About the Commercial Sire Market

    Keeneland September as a referendum on the sire market. The top 10 took 49 percent of gross, Not This Time closed on Gun Runner, and Yaupon reached the top 10 from a $25,000 fee without a Book 1 sale.

  3. Grading the Freshman Sire Class at Keeneland September

    Commercial grades for all 15 first-crop sires, with each stallion's 2024 stud fee alongside. Up to the Mark and Arabian Lion cleared at 14 percent, Cody's Wish posted a $285,000 median against a 39.3 percent RNA rate, and Mage went from 46 percent clearance to 91 percent.

  4. What a Record Keeneland September Is Made Of

    Eight years of results underneath the record: 47 fewer through-ring sales for $26.2 million more, the median up in all six books, and essentially the same buyer base writing bigger checks.

  5. Why a Record September Felt So Tough for Pinhookers

    Median purchase price rose to $85,000 while the median gross multiple fell to 1.50x. Book 3 carried the sale, six-figure Book 4 buys returned 0.91x, and fillies out-cleared colts.

  6. Book 4 Changed the Shape of Keeneland September

    Prices and clearance rose together for the first time this sale. Fillies supplied 78 percent of the gain and 41 percent of matched pinhooks sold below cost.

  7. The Freshman Sire Market Is Starting to Separate

    Six sessions in, the freshman leaderboard changes once clearance, medians and last November's weanling market join the picture.

  8. What We Learned Through Book 3 at Keeneland September

    Book 3 changed the shape of the sale. The middle strengthened, sire concentration fell and a few early stallion reads started to look very different.

  9. How Gun Runner Became Keeneland's Yearling King

    From 2023 to 2026, Gun Runner went from a distant second to the leading sire in Keeneland September's premium yearling market.

  10. The Justify Disconnect

    His yearlings keep getting harder to sell in America, even as his racing record, mare quality and international profile keep strengthening.

  11. The Sire Market Is Getting Narrower

    Four years of Keeneland September Books 1 and 2 show where buyer confidence is growing, where it is slipping and how much clearance matters.

  12. Stories from the Sale: The Long Road to Book 1

    A $25,000 claim and a mare bought privately after an RNA. The years of work behind two Book 1 results.

  13. Looking Beyond the Headline Stats

    What five years of Book 1 RNAs tell us about Gun Runner, Into Mischief, Justify, Flightline and Not This Time.

  14. Gun Runner Is the New Into Mischief

    Five years of Keeneland September Book 1 data show a changing of the guard at the top of the yearling market.

  15. Our Book 1 Fillies: Another Early Report Card

    Following our self-examination of the colts, here is our audit of the fillies.

  16. Five Colts, $9.65 Million, and an Early Report Card

    Our five highest-rated Book 1 colt pedigrees sold for a combined $9.65 million. A look back at what put each one on the list.

  17. Finding the Catalog Sleeper: Five Book 2 Yearlings Whose Pages Deserve a Closer Look

    A catalog sleeper is a yearling whose underlying racing case appears stronger than the commercial market is likely to recognize. Five from Keeneland September Book 2.

  18. Hip 84: Our Racing Profile for the $2.8 Million Gun Runner Colt

    The Gun Runner colt out of Twenty Carat topped the opening session of Keeneland September at $2.8 million. Here is the racing-aptitude profile we completed as part of our pre-sale preparation.

  19. Which Keeneland September Book Produces the Most Graded Stakes Winners?

    The catalog is organized around commercial expectation. Racing results tell a slightly different story.

  20. Keeneland September Book 1: Our Five Highest-Rated Turf Pedigrees for Racing

    Book 1 reflects an American market built around dirt. Here are five exceptional turf pedigrees hiding inside.

  21. Five Keeneland September Book 1 Fillies We'd Love in Our Racing Stable

    Book 1's priciest pages belong to the colts. Some of the most exciting racing pages in it belong to the fillies.

  22. Keeneland September Book 1: Our Five Highest-Rated Colt Pedigrees for Racing

    Every catalog has a few pages that make you look twice. These are the five Book 1 colt pedigrees that set our hair on fire.