With a $560,000 Yaupon colt leading a strong upper market for this segment of the sale, the Keeneland September yearling sale concluded Book 4 on Tuesday evening with continued double-digit gains in average and median. Through the first eight of 12 sessions at this sale, comprising Books 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the catalog, Keeneland reports that 1,771 horses have sold for $472,224,000. The sale surpassed last year's record overall gross in this year's sixth session, and continues to add to that margin. Through eight sessions and four books of the 2024 sale under the same format, 1,740 horses had sold for $382,469,500. Both sets of figures only include horses sold through the ring, not yet accounting for private sales on the grounds that will be factored into official results. Last year, the top price in Book 4 was $475,000, and in the book's two sessions, four horses sold at or above $400,000. In this year's fourth book, 11 horses met or exceeded $400,000, topped by the $560,000 Yaupon colt purchased by Mike McCarty on Tuesday; a $535,000 Girvin filly purchased by Winter Creek Stables on Tuesday; and a $500,000 Maclean's Music colt purchased by Alex and JoAnn Lieblong on Monday. With those yearlings leading the way, the two Book 4 sessions had their average prices spike 23 and 22 percent compared to their 2024 counterparts. Overall, the cumulative sale average is $266,643, up 21 percent from $219,810 at the comparable point of the 2024 sale. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  The cumulative median is up 20 percent, at $180,000 compared to $150,000. In addition to the 2024 record gross that has already been broken, the last year’s Keeneland September sale finished with record average and median figures. The buyback rate improved in most early sessions of this year’s sale, but it rose somewhat in Book 4, and overall, sits at 26 percent, the same figure as this point last year. The book-topping colt is from the second crop of Yaupon, who is currently the nation's leading freshman sire by both earnings and individual winners. The Grade 1-winning son of Uncle Mo is represented by stakes winners Sassy C W and Crown the Buckeye. The colt, who was consigned by Hinkle Farms, is out of the unraced Mineshaft mare Media Circus, who has not yet produced a starter. She is a half-sister to stakes-placed What a Fox, and to Birthday Bash, the dam of Grade 2-placed stakes winner West Omaha. Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Tapizar appears on the catalog page. More than a third of the Keeneland September catalog will be offered in the next four days, as the sale wraps up with Books 5A and 5B, the rebranded conclusion to the sale. For hip-by-hip results, click here. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.