Buff Bradley joins Keeneland sales team

Respected horseman William "Buff" Bradley, who retired from training last year, has joined the Keeneland sales team, in the new position of associate of sales development.

Bradley, who officially began his role Monday, will concentrate on sales of breeding stock and horses of racing age, the latter an increasingly important segment of Keeneland's traditional sales.

Bradley trained horses who have earned more than $19.2 million since 1993. His most accomplished runner was two-time Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint winner and Eclipse Award champion Groupie Doll. Bradley and his late father, Fred, bred Groupie Doll and co-owned her with Carl Hurst. The mare sold to Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm for $3.1 million at the 2013 Keeneland November breeding stock sale, and Buff Bradley continued to train her for the final starts of her career in Pope's colors before her retirement.

Bradley also trained Grade 1 winner Brass Hat, who earned more than $2.1 million; Grade 1-winning millionaire Divisidero; and Grade 2 winner The Player.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to join Keeneland and be part of a place that always has been special to my family and me,” Bradley, who lives in Louisville and operates Indian Ridge Farm in Frankfort, said in a press release. “I was 9 in 1972 when I came to the races for the first time with my parents and saw my dad’s filly You’re Worth win. In the mid-1990s at Keeneland’s September yearling sale, my dad bought two fillies who became the dams of Brass Hat and Groupie Doll. As a trainer, I was so proud each time I won a stakes here with our family’s horses.”

Bradley joins a Keeneland sales team that has undergone significant changes in the last year. Tony Lacy was named Keeneland's vice president of sales less than a year ago, with Cormac Breathnach coming on as director of sales operations. The two helm the Keeneland sales staff under the organization's president, Shannon Arvin, who officially assumed her duties at the start of 2021.

“We are excited to have Buff join the Keeneland sales team to further strengthen our outreach to horsemen and their participation in our sales,” Lacy said. “Buff has tremendous experience as a breeder, owner, and trainer and has gained the respect of a broad range of people in the industry, both professionally and personally.