4,139 yearlings cataloged to Keeneland September sale

The catalog for the bellwether Keeneland September yearling sale was released on Tuesday, with 4,139 yearlings cataloged, led by a strong Book 1 to kick off the sale's new format.

This year’s sale runs Sept. 11-23. The sale’s elite Book 1 portion will offer 167 selected yearlings on Sept. 11. The sale’s Book 2 portion will run Sept. 12-14. Following the traditional dark day on Friday, Sept. 15, the sale resumes Sept. 16 and continues through Sept. 23. Last year, continuing a format established in 2015, Book 1 took place over three days, with 607 yearlings cataloged. The sale continued with Book 2 following a dark day. The 2016 sale cataloged 4,479 yearlings in total.

This year's sale graduates will also be eligible for a lucrative bonus system based on future performances. Graduates of the Book 1 catalog will be eligible for funds paid out to the seller of the horse and the racing owner should the horse win a Grade 1 or Group 1 event in an eligible country as a 2-year-old or 3-year-old. If the top-level win occurs at Keeneland, bonus awards are doubled. Keeneland will seed the pool with $750,000 in 2018, when this year’s sale graduates begin racing as 2-year-olds, and will commit an additional $1.5 million each year thereafter. Keeneland has also added a second incentive program to reward sellers of horses sold during any book of the auction who win a graded or group stakes at ages 2 or 3.

Standouts among this year's Book 1 offerings include yearlings out of recent Broodmare of the Year honorees Oatsee and Take Charge Lady. Other relations to prominent performers in the catalog include a half-sister to this year's Kentucky Derby winner, Always Dreaming, who is in Book 1, and a full brother to Preakness Stakes winner Cloud Computing, scheduled to be offered later in the sale.