Keeneland occupies a unique position in the Thoroughbred industry, as it is both a racetrack – which has hosted the Breeders’ Cup three times – and one of the nation’s major sale companies. Keeneland is leaning into that dual identity with its newest venture. Adding to a starry fall landscape, it has announced plans to debut the Keeneland Championship Sale at Del Mar the week of the Breeders’ Cup, focusing on racehorses participating in that event and their close relations. “It’s very much in our wheelhouse, both as a racetrack and a sale company,” said Tony Lacy, Keeneland’s vice president of sales. “We are leaning into every aspect of what this is.” The sale and an accompanying party will be held in the Del Mar paddock on the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 30, a few days prior to the Breeders’ Cup races on Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2. Del Mar also will host the Breeders’ Cup in 2025, and Lacy said the intent is to continue the sale as a “traveling road show” at various future Breeders’ Cup locations. This is a new venture, outside of Kentucky, for Lexington-based Keeneland as it works with the Breeders’ Cup and other partners. “We’re very proud to be able to go out there,” Lacy said. “We want to support various jurisdictions around the country. We don’t want to be seen just as a Kentucky company. In fact, we see ourselves very differently.” Participation in the sale will be by invitation. The catalog is designed to feature full or fractional ownership interests in horses who are entered in the Breeders’ Cup or undercard races at Del Mar; bloodstock closely related to entries in Breeders’ Cup races; and stallion shares or breeding rights in prominent sires or Breeders’ Cup entrants. This “instant action at a high level,” as Lacy described it, plays into a market desire for current form from horses, seen in recent horses of racing age sales both live and digitally. Given the logistics of these offerings, all cataloged horses will be offered remotely. Walking a horse in training from its racetrack barn to the paddock for an evening sale in a robust environment disrupts his or her routine and presents the risk of something going amiss. Likewise, shipping breeding stock across the country also would create stress and present a risk to mares in foal due to deliver in the coming months. Horses will be available for inspection by appointment in their respective locations, and virtual inspection videos also will be available. However, rather than being a fully remote sale, each offering will be presented in a live format, with Keeneland auctioneers presiding over the bidding. “We have to maintain the theater, the energy, the dynamics of it all,” Lacy said. “If you don’t, it becomes just numbers. When you’ve got passion, and people are energized and excited, when they get competitive around each other, that’s when good things happen.” Like with all sales, buyers must register and be approved for credit in advance. Given the unique circumstances of this sale, Lacy said Keeneland officials also will be working very closely with the California Horse Racing Board, which will be present on the night, to ensure that full or fractional buyers of horses entered at Del Mar are properly licensed to participate in California racing. The final entry deadline for Breeders’ Cup races is Monday, Oct. 28, two days prior to the sale. The new sale precedes the traditional fall mixed sales in Kentucky, with the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky fall selected mixed sale set for the evening of Monday, Nov. 4, and the Keeneland November breeding stock sale running from Nov. 5-13. Racing or broodmare prospects who have just raced at the Breeders’ Cup, or close relatives of Breeders’ Cup performers, are typically big attractions at those sales, with their potential for major catalog updates. Last year, Goodnight Olive co-topped the Fasig-Tipton November sale at $6 million shortly after winning her second edition of the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Later that week, Three Witches, off a strong third in that race, became one of the highest-priced racing or broodmare prospects at Keeneland November, at $1.7 million. Lacy acknowledged that there will be “some overlap” in catalog between the new and existing sales, but noted that the championship sale adds diversity, with the ability to sell shares in horses, rather than an outright auction in November. It also allows sellers to take some money off the table prior to the Breeders’ Cup, rather than waiting for a catalog update that may or may not materialize. Horses who do not meet their reserve at the championship sale, or horses who generate a major update that their new connections may wish to cash in on, will have free and preferential entry into the Keeneland November sale. Keeneland has leaned into building atmosphere at its Kentucky sales, with live music, passed cocktails, and other attractions in the sale pavilion. The party surrounding the championship sale, which will be part of the Breeders’ Cup’s official event calendar, is another step in that direction. “The Keeneland Championship Sale is a welcome addition and an innovative concept which further enhances the exceptional experience of the Breeders’ Cup World Championships for our participants and international guests,” Drew Fleming, Breeders’ Cup President and CEO, said in a press release. “We are delighted to welcome the Keeneland team.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.