‘It’s Been Remarkable’: Keeneland November Sale Concludes with Record Average, Median

[Wandering Eyes]

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale, which continued straight on from the strength of the company's record-setting September Yearling Sale, concluded its eight-day run Tuesday with new highwater marks for average and median and the auction's highest gross since 2007.

“This year marked a watershed moment for Keeneland Sales,” said Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin. “From a record-shattering September Yearling Sale that topped $500 million in gross sales to the continued momentum into an outstanding November Breeding Stock Sale, the confidence in this marketplace has never been stronger. These successes speak to Keeneland's position as the world's marketplace, but more importantly, they highlight the strength of our customers. These are the achievements of the breeders, sellers and buyers who place their trust in Keeneland year after year.”

Through nine sessions, 1,891 horses grossed $237,456,400. The cumulative average of $125,572 was up 37.25% from the 2024 November sale, which saw 2,050 horses sell for $187,557,400 and a then-record average of $91,491. The median of $60,000 rose 50.00% from the 2024 previous record figure of $40,000. The buy-back rate was 20.45%, on par with last year's figure of 20.67%.

With the addition of 85 post-sale transactions, the November sale gross rose to $245,901,400 for an average of $124,444 and a median of $60,000. In 2024, an additional 109 post sales, brought the gross to $196,492,900 for an average of $91,011 and median of $40,000.

The 2007 November Breeding Stock Sale grossed $340,877,220 over 15 sessions and included horses in training.

“It's been remarkable,” Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. “To be very frank, we were hoping this would be a good, solid sale. We felt the quality was here and we had a good group of horses that would fit a large group of people. We were very pleased with the number of buyers that showed up–especially the international contingent–and we saw a lot of people here that we haven't seen in a number of years. It was very encouraging to see people energized to come back.

“But what was really encouraging was to see the domestic market so strong when it came to retaining a lot of these higher-end mares and retaining the gene pool,” Lacy added. “The weanling market was also exceptional, and I think that allowed breeders to feel motivated and positive as they plan to breed mares into the next season and into the near future.”

A total of 18 horses sold for seven figures during the November sale. That is double the figure from 2024 and the most at the auction since 2017. Three topped $3 million, while eight sold for $2 million or more.

Leading the way was recent GI Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup winner Lush Lips (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}), who sold for $3.7 million to Bill Shively's Dixiana Farm from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment. Dixiana Farm, which purchased two mares at the auction, was part of a deep and competitive domestic buying bench.

Cormac Breathnach and Tony Lacy | Keeneland

“The domestic buyers were definitely very, very strong,” Lacy said. “The Japanese buyers are historically very strong, but even they were finding it very competitive and probably not getting as many as they might have expected. It was just really good to see established breeders that were looking to upgrade some of their mares and complement their portfolio with some new mares and some new bloodlines. And we had some new people coming into the game. It was very encouraging overall. It's a good sign for the next few years.”

John Sikura, whose Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa consignment sold 72 horses for $13,943,000 (including post sales), was gratified by, not just the record-setting results of the November sale, but also  the strength of the domestic buying bench.

“There was an expectation that we'd have a strong Breeding Stock Sale based upon the success of the September Yearling Sale and the entire yearling market,” said Sikura. “But there is a difference between expectation and reality. The fact that it happened is a very positive sign because the cycle for breeders is a long one. It expresses market confidence that people were buying high-end mares and the clearance rate was high on quality.

“It was also encouraging that in more cases than one, I saw an American breeder outbid their international counterpart,” Sikura continued. “That's good, because we've sort of been running second around all these big mares, and there were so many instances at this sale where the U.S. breeders were the winners. That's very healthy, because over time we can kind of denigrate the quality of what we have when we keep selling our best mares into private hands or abroad.”

The weanling market was particularly strong, with a pair of foals bringing seven figures. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, bidding on behalf of Saudi businessman Amr Zedan, went to $2.2 million to acquire a son of Gun Runner from the Denali Stud consignment, while trainer Wesley Ward, bidding on behalf of an undisclosed new racing client–went to $1.25 million to acquire a filly by Curlin from the Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa consignment. Ward ultimately signed for 18 weanlings–including some with Louis Dubois and Charles Shanahan as agents–for $6,030,000.

$2.2-Million Gun Runner weanling | Keeneland

In all, 808 weanlings sold through the ring at the 2025 Keeneland November sale for a gross of $91,630,300. The average price of $110,564 rose 46.50% from 2024 and the median rose 66.67% to $70,000. Twenty-three weanlings sold for $400,000 or more during the auction, up from 11 a year ago.

During the 2024 November sale, 801 weanlings sold through the ring for a gross of $60,454,700 for an average of $75,474 and a median of $42,000. The top-priced foal was a $900,000 son of Into Mischief.

The strength of the November market had its origins in the record-setting Keeneland September Yearling Sale, which set highwater marks for gross, average, median, as well as total number of million-dollar sales.

“The September market was remarkable with a jump of about 25% on last year, which was also a record,” Keeneland Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach said. “That has spurred reinvestment. Pinhookers have been aggressive in restocking for next year's yearling market, and breeders are seeing a lot of value in mares with attractive commercial covers. The September Sale drove a lot of the gains at the November sale, which is encouraging because it's how you want the industry to work: People continue the cycle and make money along the way. Thankfully, 2025 has been a good year in that regard.”

Some buyers sought to get ahead of another potentially strong yearling market in 2026 by buying weanlings in November. Zedan, traditionally a high-end buyer at the yearling and 2-year-old sales, was making his first weanling purchase through Lanni when he acquired the $2.2-million top-priced foal.

“That end-user market was very active searching for the quality stock because they know those horses were probably going to cost them potentially more in September or at least as much,” Lacy said. “So they were trying to safeguard their position and gaining the quality that was here.”

The competitive bidding also had buyers looking outside of their traditional roles to find value in the market.

“There were some weanling buyers here who talked about diversifying into the broodmare sector as well, just getting pushed back,” Breathnach said. “So you had some yearling purchasers and end-users looking to buying weanlings and you have some weanling pinhookers looking to try to pinhook in uteros. That's another factor of a vibrant market.”

Taylor Made Tops Consignors List, Raging Torrent Syndicate is Leading Buyer

Taylor Made Sales Agency repeated as the leading consignor at the 2025 Keeneland November sale, with 258 horses sold for a gross of $42,172,400. It was the 28th time since 1987 that the Taylor family's operation was the auction's leading seller.

The Raging Torrent Syndicate, which opened the week at Fasig-Tipton with the $5-million purchase of Puca (Big Brown) and $1.5-million purchase of Violent Wave (Violence), was the leading buyer at the Keeneland November sale. The operation purchased five broodmares at Keeneland for a gross of $5,225,000. Leading the way was the $2-million purchase of Chatalas (Gun Runner). Paul Curran, representing the English-based Ace Stud, signed for the mares who are expected to support the operation's new stallions Raging Torrent and Carl Spackler. The two stallions will begin their stud careers next season at Lane's End.

Judicial Ethics Tops November Finale

The unraced 3-year-old broodmare prospect Judicial Ethics (Constitution) (hip 2852) brought the top price of the final day at the Keeneland November sale, selling for $180,000 to Sylvie Racing Ltd. The filly, a daughter of stakes winner Midnight Soiree (Include), was consigned by Lane's End, agent.

During the eighth session of the November sale, 164 head sold for a gross of $2,290,000. The average was $13,963 and the median was $9,750.

During the auction's ninth session, which immediately followed the eighth on Tuesday, 76 horses sold for $913,400 for an average of $12,018 and a median of $7,000.

Horses of Racing Age Sale Wednesday

The action will switch from bloodstock to racehorse offerings with the Keeneland November Horses of Racing Age Sale Wednesday. The one-session auction will offer roughly 130 ready-to-run horses and begins at noon.

“We are very encouraged by the depth of quality within the sale,” said Breathnach. “There are a lot of very lightly raced horses. There are 30-odd black-type performers in the group. There are some fillies with pedigree. It's a nice group of horses.”

Among the horses on offer Wednesday are 5-year-old multiple graded stakes winner Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) (hip 4014), who is coming off a win in the GIII Forty Niner Stakes at Aqueduct Nov. 2; 4-year-old graded stakes winner World Record (Gun Runner) (hip 4184); and 3-year-old Divine Justice (Justify) (hip 4190), who broke his maiden at the Keeneland meeting Oct. 3.

“We are definitely seeing the catalogue books fly off the shelf and credit applications are coming in,” Breathnach said. “The horses of racing age are here and we saw a lot of people, end-users, agents and trainers, that are actively shopping all day today, looking through the barns. So we are very encouraged and optimistic about tomorrow's sale as well.”

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