Keeneland Catalogs 4,272 Yearlings to September Sale

A total of 4,272 yearlings have been cataloged for the 77th annual Keeneland September Yearling Sale to be held over 12 sessions from Sept. 13-25, Keeneland announced Aug. 11. The auction will offer online bidding and expanded phone bidding for those buyers participating remotely.

The enhanced online September Sale catalog this year will allow buyers to conduct virtual inspections by featuring walking videos of yearlings, comments from consignors about their yearlings, and links to each consignor's website.

Print catalogs will be mailed Aug. 21 and should arrive around Aug. 25.

"Keeneland's September Sale is vital to the Thoroughbred industry and the primary source globally of champions and graded or group stakes winners year after year," said Keeneland president-elect and interim head of sales Shannon Arvin. "We look forward to welcoming consignors and buyers this fall, and we are collaborating with Fasig-Tipton and government and health officials on protocols to be announced in the coming days that will enable us to conduct a successful and safe sale. For those unable to attend, we have expedited our technology initiatives to provide real-time online bidding and expanded our phone bidding capabilities. We also have enhanced the resources available via our digital September Sale catalog to deliver more information directly to our customers."

Remote Bidding Options

Whether attending the sale or participating remotely, buyers have a number of ways to prepare for the auction. The first step is to register for an account and establish credit within the Keeneland Sales Portal. Keeneland recommends doing so two weeks before the sale.

Beginning with the September Sale and through the upcoming sales season, Keeneland will offer two remote bidding options for buyers. Both options integrate directly with the live auction experience in real time, just as if a buyer were standing in the sales pavilion.

With online bidding, buyers may watch a real-time video view of the live sale and bid simultaneously from Keeneland's online bidding platform accessible through their accounts in the Keeneland Sales Portal. Two options are available: a live, on-demand bid that occurs manually and a max bid, which allows the software to bid on your behalf up to a designated price.

For phone bidding, Keeneland has expanded its existing phone bidding program to accommodate increased demand. From the Keeneland Sales Portal, a buyer can register to participate by phone. A Keeneland representative will call back prior to the bidding.

For more information, click here for the Remote Bidding Registration Guide.

For buyers attending the sale, Keeneland will provide additional bidding locations beyond the arena and back ring to allow for proper social distancing.

2020 September Sale Schedule

The September Sale will cover a total of 12 sessions, one fewer than in 2019. All start times are Eastern. The format is as follows:

• Book 1—Sunday-Monday, Sept. 13-14. Sessions begin at noon. A total of 448 yearlings are cataloged over the two days.
• Tuesday, Sept. 15—A "dark day" when no sale will be conducted.
• Book 2—Wednesday-Thursday, Sept. 16-17. Sessions begin at 10 a.m. with a total of 770 horses in the two-day catalog.
• Books 3-6—Friday-Friday, Sept. 18-25. Sessions begin at 10 a.m. A total of 3,054 yearlings are cataloged for these sessions over the final eight days of the sale.

Keeneland will livestream the entire September Sale at Keeneland.com.

Leading Sires Represented in 2020 Catalog

The 2020 September Sale has cataloged 2,235 colts and 2,037 fillies. These yearlings represent 201 of the world's leading sires, including American Pharoah , Bernardini , Candy Ride , Constitution , Curlin , Dark Angel, Distorted Humor , Empire Maker , Frankel, Frosted , Galileo, Ghostzapper , Hard Spun , Honor Code , Into Mischief , Kingman, Kitten's Joy , Malibu Moon , Medaglia d'Oro , More Than Ready , Munnings , No Nay Never, Nyquist , Pioneerof the Nile, Quality Road , Speightstown , Street Sense , Tapit , Uncle Mo , Union Rags , Violence , and War Front .

Notable stallions with their first crop of yearlings in the September Sale catalog include Arrogate, Battle of Midway, Caravaggio, Churchill, Classic Empire , Cupid , Gun Runner , Keen Ice , Mastery , and Practical Joke .

September Sale Graduates Excel This Year

September Sale graduates have recorded 26 grade/group 1 victories through Aug. 9.

North American grade 1 winners include Authentic (TVG.com Haskell), Collusion Illusion (Bing Crosby), Combatant (Santa Anita Handicap), Echo Town (H. Allen Jerkens Presented by Runhappy), Gamine (Longines Acorn, Longines Test), Improbable (Hollywood Gold Cup, Whitney), Instilled Regard (Manhattan), Keeper Ofthe Stars (Gamely), Mucho Gusto (Pegasus World Cup Invitational Presented by Ruhappy), Nadal (Arkansas Derby), No Parole (Woody Stephens Presented by Claiborne Farm), Paris Lights (Coaching Club American Oaks), Serengeti Empress (Ballerina), She's a Julie (Ogden Phipps), Vekoma (Runhappy Carter, Runhappy Metropolitan), Vexatious (Personal Ensign), Volatile (Alfred G. Vanderbilt), and War of Will (Maker's Mark Mile).

Group 1-winning September Sale alumni include such international performers as Kameko, winner of the QIPCO Two Thousand Guineas at Newmarket in England, Con Te Partiro in Australia, and Mozu Ascot and Mozu Superflare in Japan.