Keeneland April sale scheduled for evening of final card of spring meet

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Keeneland April horses of racing age sale, a re-imagined event in recent years, will take another shift this spring as it is presented the evening following the final card of Keeneland's spring race meeting.

First post for the track's closing day on Friday, April 29 has been moved to 12:30 p.m. to accomodate 10 races, highlighted by the Grade 3 Bewitch Stakes. The last race will thus take place at approximately 5:09 p.m., with the sale set to begin at 6:30 p.m. The Kentucky racing circuit moves down the highway to Churchill Downs beginning on Saturday, April 30, with the Kentucky Derby a week later.

“Keeneland is excited for this opportunity to bridge racing and sales and capitalize on the energy of the spring meet,” Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy said in a release. “By hosting the April sale on a race day, we will introduce some race fans to the sales arena and hopefully develop new participants over time. We also can showcase the sale before industry focus moves to Louisville and Kentucky Derby week.”

The Keeneland April sale was a popular 2-year-old sale location for decades before changes to the economy resulted in that sale being placed on hiatus following its 2014 edition. The sale returned in 2019 as a combined event for 2-year-olds and horses of racing age. A similar event was planned for 2020, but was forced to be cancelled, along with Keeneland's spring race meeting, by the first wave of the ongoing pandemic.

Last year, Keeneland conducted an April horses of racing age sale on the final Monday of April - three days following the conclusion of the spring meet, and five days before the Kentucky Derby. The sale, led by the $310,000 colt Crew Dragon, was presented as an integrated event, with horses located both on-site at Keeneland or off-site at their training locations, at the consignors' choice. A similar format will be in place for this sale. Keeneland auctioneers will present and preside over all offerings on-site. Buyers both on-site at Keeneland and working remotely using telephone or internet bidding will be able to bid on all offerings.

“Keeneland is unique in its role as both a race track and sales company, and we want to continue to strengthen the synergy between those two operations,” Keeneland vice president of racing Gatewood Bell said. “The timing of the April sale enables trainers to make adjustments to their racing stables as they move to their summer bases.”