Today marks the kick off night of the 2012 Keeneland September yearling sale.
This is not only a fantastic night of people watching and a great little social event for those in the industry, it’s a chance to buy the next Zenyatta!
For years Keeneland has been the premier sales company in the thoroughbred industry and this year looks like it will be no different. This year in 2012, Keeneland has so far provided no fewer than 94 Graded Stakes winners and 19 of those were Grade I winner!! Including the horse who had a shot at the fabled Triple Crown but was cut down by injury, I’ll Have Another. The best part about him was that he went through the ring for only $11,000! When you consider that the sales topper can go for over a million dollars, this is a small price to pay for a Triple Crown horse. That’s why this sport is so enchanting, you don’t have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to find yourself a star, they come in all shapes and sizes.
Over the course of the past decade, Keeneland graduates have accounted for nearly half of all winners of the Triple Crown classic races. Keeneland has sold 19 Kentucky Derby (G1) winners — including 2012 winner I’ll Have Another, 2011 winner Animal Kingdom, Big Brown, Fusaichi Pegasus, Winning Colors and Alysheba — and an amazing 20 Preakness (G1) winners, highlighted by 2012 victor I’ll Have Another, 2011 champion Shackleford and Lookin At Lucky. Seventeen Belmont (G1) winners have gone through the Keeneland auction ring, led by five of the past six champions — Ruler On Ice (2011), Drosselmeyer (2010), Da’ Tara (2008), Rags to Riches (2007) and her half-brother, Jazil (2006).
Since its inaugural running in 1984, Keeneland sale graduates have also dominated the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, counting among them Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1) winners and Horses of the Year Havre de Grace (2011), Zenyatta (2009), Curlin (2007), A.P. Indy (1992), Black Tie Affair (1991), Sunday Silence (1989) and Alysheba (1988). Six Keeneland sales alumni captured Breeders’ Cup events in 2011 — Drosselmeyer (Classic), My Miss Aurelia (Juvenile Fillies-G1), Court Vision (Mile-G1), Stephanie’s Kitten (Juvenile Fillies Turf-G2), Regally Ready (Turf Sprint-G2), and Secret Circle (Juvenile Sprint), joining such racing luminaries as Uncle Mo, Unrivaled Belle, Shared Account, Dangerous Midge, English Channel, Ashado, Midnight Lute, Speightstown, Forever Together, Stardom Bound, Azeri and Johannesburg.
I’ll be out there today, walking the sales yards, casting my eye across many a filly and colt, trying to find that one that just may be in my price range and bring me glory on the racetrack. But I won’t be disheartened if I get outbid, because being out at the sales is just a great day. The atmosphere that surrounds the build up to opening night auction is electric, and when the first hammer falls, it’s an 11 day treasure hunt to see who can find the biggest prize.
So if you’re looking for something to do over the next week or so and you’ve got some spare time, have a look at Keeneland, see if you can get to the Sales and see where all the magic that you see on the track begins.
Start your journey here…
http://www.keeneland.com/sales
And if you’re new to the game, this page will tell you what sort of thing to look for when you have a look at a yearling…