The Good Times Roll On As Keeneland January Kicks Off Monday

[Wandering Eyes]

The saying in New Orleans goes something like, 'Laissez les bons temps rouler!'. And while Mardi Gras is over a month away and Lexington is some 700 miles from Louisiana, the Keeneland January Horses of All Ages Sale kicks off Monday looking to keep the good times rolling off a record-setting 2025 sales season.

The sale begins its two-day run at 10 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 12 and concludes Tuesday, Jan. 13 with a total of 1,097 horses catalogued across the two sessions.

Riding a tsunami of momentum, Keeneland January comes on the heels of exceptional trade at both the September Yearling Sale and the November Breeding Stock Sale, the latter of which set unparalleled marks in both average and median while achieving the auction's highest gross since 2007. Consigners, even those more guarded in their enthusiasm, believe good things are still to come despite the sale's trim-down from three days to two. A year ago amidst frigid temperatures and snowy conditions, the January sale sold 724 horses across those three sessions with three mares sharing a co-topping $700,000 final bid.

“Obviously 2025 is going to be hard to beat, but we're hoping to come in strong,” said Four Star Sales's Ashley Franz. “We've got a large number of weanlings and quite a few mares and racehorses too so a little of everything to offer. I think there's a little big of everything and that's why January is so great. It's still a big sale and it's one of the last bigger mixed sales.”

The Four Star Sales consignment, some 79-horses strong, features the likes of last year's King's Plate winner Mansetti (Collected) along with broodmares in foal to successful young stallions Yaupon and Practical Joke along with up-and-coming sires like Dornoch, Gunite, and Domestic Product among others.

“We've got 20-some short yearlings both days of the sale that we're selling, some ready-made racehorses, a nice stakes filly too, so there's something everybody can pick over in terms of what people want to try and buy,” Franz said. “I think, especially the past couple of years and because the yearling market was so strong [in 2025], the weanling and short yearling market has really escalated on both sides, buying and selling. And because that's gone up, that's also increased [a buyer's] need for mares and fillies off the track that need to be bred because people need other outlets when they're getting beat on yearlings.”

The demand for yearlings was a common thread amongst Keeneland January consigners with short yearlings proving to be most active in the barn areas.

Zach Madden | Keeneland

“Obviously the most active horses at the barn are usually the yearlings,” said Zach Madden, whose Buckland Sales consignment features several newly-turned yearlings by young stallions like Taiba, Annapolis and Corniche. “There is always a perception that there's a lot of people looking at them and spending good money and it seems like every year I've gotten calls over the break from people saying 'we need more yearlings'. I feel like that's a good indicator that people still need stock. They've got stalls to fill and that usually equates to good stuff for everybody at the sale. But again, you gotta bring it. You've got to have sire power. You've got to have physical. You've got to have pedigree. They have to behave themselves when they're out there. There's a lot of factors but if you can jump through all those hoops, then it's been very, very good and we're hoping that continues on into next week.”

Consigners continued to be cognizant of the need for the right horse to produce the strong results they're all hoping for.

“I do feel like, if you've got the goods, whether it's a mare in foal to a good stallion and she's young enough and has proven herself, or a short yearling that looks the part and walks and vets, or a good filly off the track, people are going to find that desirable,” Madden continued. “I've been selling [horses] for 20 years and I came in when it was pretty much at the bottom in 2008 or 2009, and [ever since] we've just been riding this wave and I'm hoping that it continues on. If you have something of quality, something that ticks all the boxes so to speak, you usually get rewarded for that. [The market strength] is kind of spread throughout.”

The strength of the yearling market had consigners seeing a renewed interest in mares who may provide buyers a chance to get in “ahead” of the surging pricing.

“If you've got a really nice, young, fast mare, she'll go over well because I don't think there's many like that,” said Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services's John Stuart. “If the weanling market holds [like it did in November], then the yearling market and the 2-year-old market also hold up. The higher quality horses and the [short yearlings], there's a strong demand there. There will be plenty of interest in the mares. It's only a two day sale but it's a packed two days. They've got a lot of horses on each of those days and I'd say if you've got the quality, it'll be fun.”

The Keeneland January Sale opens Monday morning with bidding starting at 10 a.m.

The post The Good Times Roll On As Keeneland January Kicks Off Monday appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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