Keeneland's Storied Sales History

Keeneland is where the world comes to buy the best Thoroughbred horses.

We take pride in our history of selling more champions and stakes winners than any other sales company.

The list of Keeneland sale graduates includes Kentucky Derby winners War Emblem, Fusaichi Pegasus, Real Quiet, Thunder Gulch, Sunday Silence, Winning Colors, Alysheba, and Spectacular Bid; 2006 Belmont winner Jazil; and recent champions Round Pond, Stevie Wonderboy, Ashado, Lost in the Fog, Azeri, Serena's Song, and Favorite Trick.  

Though our founders expressed the idea of a sales facility in the 1930s, it wasn't until 1943 that horses were first sold on the grounds. 

Prior to World War II, many Kentucky breeders shipped their yearlings to Saratoga, New York, each summer to be sold at auction. But in 1943, a wartime restriction on rail transport forced breeders to keep their yearlings at home. So began Keeneland's first yearling sale, held under a tent in the track paddock. From that inaugural sale came Hoop, Jr., winner of the 1945 Kentucky Derby.

Today, we conduct four sales annually. Our two signature sales are the September Yearling Sale and the November Breeding Stock Sale. We also hold a January Horses of All Ages Sale and an April Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale. The July Selected Yearling Sale was discontinued in 2003.  

Keeneland's elite yearling sales have broken many records through the years. The first million-dollar yearling in Thoroughbred sales history, Canadian Bound, was sold in 1976 at Keeneland. In 1985, $13.1 million was paid for Seattle Dancer, establishing a world record that still stands today. That record was nearly broken last September, when a Kingmambo colt brought $11.7 million. 

Not only do we offer top quality yearlings, but our November Breeding Stock Sale is unmatched in the world, claiming the world record price for a broodmare prospect (champion Ashado, sold in 2005 for $9 million) and a pregnant broodmare (Cash Run, sold in 2003 for $7.1 million).