LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Keeneland November breeding stock sale, which offered broodmares, racing or broodmare prospects, weanlings, and racing or stallion prospects to a number of levels in the market over a nearly two-week run, concluded on Sunday with relatively steady figures compared to the 2018 edition of the sale. The 12-session Keeneland November sale finished with 2,667 horses sold, including private sales, for gross receipts of $200,139,400. That marked a gain of 1 percent in total revenues from 2018. Last year's sale, held over the same run of 12 sessions, finished with 2,644 horses sold for $197,851,300, also including private sales. The average price finished at $75,043, a tick upward of less than 1 percent from $74,830 last year. The median remained even at $25,000. The cumulative buyback rate finished at 20 percent in a selective marketplace, a solid improvement compared to 23 percent last year. Horses sold as breeding stock generally represent a longer-term investment for the buyer; this is also the case when "end users" purchase weanlings, as opposed to pinhookers. Because of this, mixed sales can be viewed as a major indicator of the perceptions of the long-term health of the bloodstock industry. In what has been a tumultuous year for the Thoroughbred industry, the relatively steady figures are a positive sign. A steady median and improved buyback rate, especially, are signs of a healthy middle market. "I think we're very satisfied with the outcome," Bob Elliston, Keeneland's vice president of racing and sales, said. "We really spent a lot of time pushing hard up front with our Book 1, and we were very satisfied there, with an increase in gross, and I think that set the stage for solid trade throughout. "There was solid trade throughout by domestic interests and foreign interests," Elliston continued. "The foreign interests, we've seen them active throughout the sale right up into Book 6, with Turkish and Saudi interests, who were buying truckloads of horses, it feels like. I'm very pleased with how it's gone in this difficult environment for the horse industry over 2019. It's nice to have some solid results here, both in [the Keeneland September yearling sale] and into November." The single-session Book 1 portion of Keeneland November, which kicked off the sale on Wednesday, Nov. 6, indeed showed an increase in gross, as not only were more horses sold compared to 2018, at 163 to 134, but more of those sold for seven figures, with 14 compared to nine at that threshold in 2018. Leading the sale for the second time in her young broodmare career was Take Charge Brandi, who lit the bid board at $3.2 million while carrying a foal from the first crop of Triple Crown winner Justify. She was one of 13 horses who sold in Book 2 as Elevage Bloodstock, headed by John Sikura of Hill 'n' Dale Farm and Craig Bernick of Glen Hill Farm, liquidated its broodmare and weanling assets, accounting for $11.7 million in gross sales. Sikura, whose Hill 'n' Dale handled the consignment, said there was "no animosity whatsoever" between he and Bernick, two high-profile players in the bloodstock industry, and that Elevage will continue to be involved in stallion holdings as it re-focuses its business strategy. "We were initially going to be a stallion investment company, which has been a big part of our portfolio," Sikura explained. "Then we started to buy some mares. And some of the partners thought that we should be more direct and concentrate our assets as we originally planned." Sending horses through the auction ring in such situations is common in order to establish a fair current market value on the horse, and it is not uncommon for one of the partners to go home with the horse. Sikura signed the sales ticket for Take Charge Brandi, and also took home her weanling Tapit colt for $600,000. Bolstered by those purchases, Hill 'n' Dale finished as Keeneland November's overall leading buyer by gross, with 10 purchases for a total of $5,351,000.  Take Charge Brandi, by Giant's Causeway, won the 2014 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies, the Grade 3 Delta Downs Princess, and the Grade 1 Starlet Stakes to earn that season's Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding 2-year-old filly. She also won the Martha Washington Stakes early in her 3-year-old season. Hill 'n' Dale consigned Take Charge Brandi to the 2015 Keeneland November sale for owner Willis Horton, and Sikura went to $6 million to purchase her that day. She was the most expensive horse sold in North America that year, and was the sixth-highest-priced broodmare or broodmare prospect ever sold at Keeneland November. Sikura said Take Charge Brandi's outstanding female family, which has continued to fire on the racetrack, made him determined to go home with the mare. Take Charge Brandi's dam, the winning Seeking the Gold mare Charming, is also the dam of Omaha Beach, a Grade 1 winner both sprinting and routing this season, and recently second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile. Charming, also the dam of Irish Group 1-placed Courage Under Fire, is out of multiple Grade 1 winner and Broodmare of the Year Take Charge Lady. That mare, who most recently produced a reported foal in 2017, is the dam of Eclipse Award champion Will Take Charge and Grade 1 winner Take Charge Indy. "It's an impeccable female family, and you get almost no opportunity to get into this family," Sikura said. "The second dam is no longer producing. Her dam, Charming, is owned by Coolmore – it's very selective and hard to get those offspring, as well. Omaha Beach is a great stallion prospect. So for me, to collect fillies [from the family] is a great opportunity." A partnership dissolution was also the story behind Keeneland November's second-highest price overall, as Grade 1 winner Eskimo Kisses sold for $2.3 million to Shadai Farm of Japan. The To Honor and Serve mare, who is a granddaughter of Kentucky Derby winner Winning Colors, was campaigned by a group including Gainesway Stable, Harold Lerner, Nehoc Stables, and Magdalena Racing. "I'm a little bit sad that she sold, but we brought her here to sell," said part-owner Michael Hernon of Gainesway, which also consigned the mare. "Maybe we'll take a trip to Japan to see her . . . She's going to a great home. It's a little bit bittersweet, but you know, we're in the business of selling horses and breeding horses, and she's a really good one. So they got something special, and we'll look forward to good news from her. We wish them the very best." Eskimo Kisses scored her signature victory in the Grade 1 Alabama Stakes in 2018, defeating eventual Grade 1 winner She's a Julie by 6 1/2 lengths, with multiple Grade 1 winner Midnight Bisou third. “She was my top pick of the sale," said Tetsuya Yoshida, who signed the ticket. "She will come back to Japan. I’m so excited.” Eskimo Kisses was offered in foal to classic sire Curlin, who was also responsible for two most expensive weanlings of the sale as that segment of the market showed strength at the top. Eight youngsters sold for $500,000 or more in Book 1, compared to six to meet that mark last year. Three weanlings then sold for $500,000 or more over the two days of Book 2, compared to two in the book in 2018. "I think we've seen a trend over the last couple of years of some end users coming into the weanling market," Keeneland's director of sales Geoffrey Russell said. "But the last three years, the yearling market has been extremely good, so I think it gives confidence to pinhookers as well to participate at the top end of the market. "But again, yearling, weanling, it makes no difference," Russell continued, alluding to the market's selectivity. "They have to vet, and if they vet, the sky's the limit, and if they don't vet, they don't [sell well]." Larry Best, who races as OXO Equine, referenced a strong yearling market when purchasing a pair of Curlin weanlings. He went to $775,000 for a filly by the stallion in Book 2, after previously purchasing a colt for $750,000 in Book 1. "I think the elevated yearling market is driving some people to buy [in the weanling market] at higher prices," Best said. "There's too many cases where quality buyers couldn't buy at the yearling sales, so they're coming here looking for talent. And if it's [by] a strong sire, like Curlin, it's gonna sell at a good price." Best's new Curlin filly, who was consigned by Indian Creek, as agent, is out of the Giant's Causeway mare Fly to the Stars, the dam of six winners from as many starters. Those are led by Grade 3 winner The Tabulator and stakes-placed Star Via Strada. It is the extended family of Grade 1 winner Bellamy Road. The $750,000 Curlin colt, who was consigned by Eaton Sales, as agent, is the first foal out of the Grade 3-placed Macho Uno mare Banree, a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Gloryzapper. Further illustrating that the various sales seasons don't operate in a vaccuum, the strong yearling market affected the buying bench at the November breeding stock sale, as small operations, fresh off outstanding sales, were able to reinvest in their broodmare bands. Those included Clarkland Farm, which sold one of the highest-priced horses in the history of Keeneland September, as a filly by American Pharoah and out of its blue hen Leslie's Lady brought $8.2 million. As the wheel turned, Clarkland picked up three horses at Keeneland November, led by stakes-placed Fairyland, in foal to Triple Crown winner and leading freshman sire American Pharoah, for $700,000; and multiple Grade 1-placed Conquest Eclipse, in foal to Justify, for $650,000. "We just reinvested a little bit that the filly brought for us in September," Clarkland patriarch Fred Mitchell said. "We just hope luck stays with us, and hope these mares have beautiful foals for us." Another small operation that had an outstanding run in September is Hinkle Farm, which sold a pair of seven-figure yearlings. The operation purchased a trio of mares in November, two of those for more than half a million. "If you did well in September and you sold yearlings nicely, some of these folks came back and reinvested in their broodmare bands ... You're willing to reinvest for the right kinds of mares," Elliston said. While broodmares and weanlings were the focus of the first week of the sale, the later sessions featured a selection of male racing prospects, racing or stallion prospects, and stallions. This market segment has gained traction in recent years at Keeneland, with recent graduates of this portion of the sale including future Grade 1 winners Diversify, Long On Value, and Next Shares.  Ahead of the inaugural running of the $20 million Saudi Cup and a rich undercard next February, one of that country's leading owners, Khalid bin Mishref, purchased the two leading horses from the racing and stallion prospects section. He purchased the 2-year-old colt Liam’s Legend, a maiden winner just weeks ago, for $325,000, and less than 24 hours later, stretched to $240,000 for graded stakes winner New York Central. "It's bringing attention to dirt racing [in that region]," Russell said of the Saudi Cup, "and of course, U.S.-breds are the leading horses for dirt racing in the world . . . Clearly, that race had piqued interest for some folks as it relates to finding quality dirt-bred horses, and there's no place better to get them than Lexington, Kentucky." Mishref is known in U.S. racing for purchasing an interest in Grade 1-winning 3-year-old Math Wizard prior to the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He also purchased an interest in last year’s Belmont Stakes runner-up and this year’s Dubai World Cup runner-up Gronkowski, who has an ambitious international campaign planned for 2020, including the inaugural Saudi Cup. Mishref could now have an entrant on the undercard, as he says he plans to aim New York Central at the $1.5 million Dirt Sprint. “Hopefully, he will do well for us,” Mishref said. “He looks good as an individual. I love his conformation, and he’s filled out. Hopefully, the son of Tapit will do well. He could be a stallion prospect in Saudi Arabia down the road. Step by step, we’re going to try and promote the breeding in the long run.” New York Central raced for WinStar Farm, China Horse Club, and SF Racing, and was consigned to Keeneland by WinStar. Under the tutelage of Steve Asmussen, the colt finished second in last year’s Grade 3 Pat Day Mile on the Kentucky Derby undercard. This spring, he broke through for a graded stakes victory, winning the Grade 3 Maryland Sprint Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths. New York Central is out of the winning Forest Wildcat mare Fashion Cat, making him a half-brother to Grade 2 winner Corfu and to stakes-placed Runway Ready. Fashion Cat is a half-sister to multiple Grade 1 winner Peace Rules. Meanwhile, Liam’s Legend is a prospect for the future. The colt, from the first crop of Liam’s Map, finished fifth in September at Churchill Downs in his first start before scoring by three lengths in a 1 1/8-mile maiden on Oct. 26 at Keeneland. He scored that victory for trainer Rodolphe Brisset and owners Niall Brennan, Mike Ryan, and Mike Anderson. “He will suit the track in Saudi Arabia,” Mishref said. “He will like the distance. As a 2-year-old, he already won at a mile and an eighth. We are targeting eight, nine, 10 furlongs. He might have potential for the [2021] Saudi Cup.” Liam’s Legend is out of the stakes-winning Cherokee Run mare Indian Legend, a full sister to graded stakes winner Cherokee Queen. Indian Legend’s first starter is the stakes winner Kenda, who, like Liam’s Legend, is by an Unbridled-line stallion. Another notable name offered as a racing or stallion prospect was Catapult, a multiple Grade 2-winning millionaire who was second in the 2018 Breeders' Cup Mile. He is also headed overseas after being purchased for $50,000 by prominent Turkish owner and breeder Arif Kurtel. He was extremely active buying mares to support his new stallion, landing a total of 59 horses at Keeneland November. In addition to the annually active Japanese and European interests at the top end of the market, and Saudi Arabian and Turkish interests emerging, one of the most active buyers at the sale was the Korean Racing Authority, with it's K.O.I.D. buying arm signing for 44 horses. "It's pure economics," Russell said, noting that there were fewer South American buyers at this sale than in past years. "Their countries are not doing very well economically, so you're going to see less of them, and we're seeing more from Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Korea has been a very strong supporter yet again. So these different markets that we go to on a regular basis, establish these relationships, they reap benefits." As Keeneland November concluded, its overall leading sire by gross sales - including all horses, from mares to weanlings to racing prospects - was Gainesway's perennial leading sire Tapit, with 47 horses sold for a total of $6,586,900. He edged out Coolmore's international titan Galileo, with 17 sold for $6,390,700; and Spendthrift's Into Mischief, currently the nation's leading general sire, with 36 sold for $6,201,500. The overall leading sire by average, among those with three or more sold, was To Honor and Serve, who formerly stood at Gainesway before being exported to Korea. Led by Eskimo Kisses, he finished with four offspring sold for an average of $612,050. Following him by average price were Galileo, averaging $375,924; and Juddmonte's Arrogate, with three sold for $315,000. Champion and leading moneywinner Arrogate is, of course, represented by his first crop of weanlings this season. He edged out Horse of the Year and racetrack rival Gun Runner, now standing at Three Chimneys, to be Keeneland November's top first-crop weanling sire. The latter had six sell for an average of $295,000. Justify, who entered stud this year for Coolmore, was the leading covering sire by gross by a wide margin over Curlin, with 15 mares in foal sold for a total of $11,195,000. Curlin, who stands at Hill 'n' Dale, had six mares in foal sell for $6,010,000. Next on the list were Lane's End's Quality Road, with six sold for $5,525,000; and his son and barnmate City of Light, with 24 mares carrying foals from his first crop sold for $5,490,000. Looking at covering sires by average, Curlin led in that regard at $1,001,667, followed by Quality Road at $920,833, Darley's Medaglia d'Oro, with seven averaging $752,857, and Justify checking in at $746,333. Keeneland November's top consignor by gross was perennial leader Taylor Made Sales Agency. With 292 horses sold, nearly twice as many as any other sales agency, the operation garnered $27,511,100. The leading consignor by average was Nursery Place, with its three horses sold averaging $326,667. For hip-by-hip results from the sale, click here.