There are some things that never change, even in times of upheaval and transformation in the world around them. In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic upended the juvenile and yearling sale seasons, the Keeneland September yearling sale still took place on its usual dates – which turned out to be shortly after the rescheduled Kentucky Derby. Although things looked very different – the grounds were not open to the general public, health-screening stations were set up at entrances, and assigned seating and bid spotters were positioned for social distancing – the sale still traded more than 2,400 horses. With complicated travel logistics, major U.S. sales companies introduced online-bidding platforms during the pandemic to supplement traditional bidding and phone bidding. It didn’t turn out to be a temporary practice. Five years later, not only has online bidding continued at established sales, but stand-alone digital auctions have become a niche in the marketplace, most notably for Fasig-Tipton. In addition to regularly scheduled sales, these digital auctions provide the flexibility to strike while the iron is hot with “flash” sales of recent winners, or to adapt to circumstances, such as the recent major reduction of Harris Farms following the death of leading California owner and breeder John Harris in July. Although bidding can take place online, the yearling market has remained largely a brick-and-mortar one, with horses presented physically on the sales grounds and through the sales ring. Nowhere is that more evident than at Keeneland September, which brands itself as the world’s marketplace. Buyers representing 31 countries purchased horses at the 2024 edition of the auction, which set records for gross and average and tied the record median. This year’s sale, its 82nd edition, offers horses at all levels of the marketplace and will test how Thoroughbreds raised on this continent are perceived globally. The sale is set to take place over 12 sessions, from Monday, Sept. 8, through Saturday, Sept. 20, with one dark day. Accounting for supplemental entries, there were 4,692 yearlings cataloged through Aug. 22 – more than 28 percent of this foal crop, according to estimates from The Jockey Club. “The September sale is the largest and most important auction of its kind, and Keeneland feels a great responsibility to ensure its success,” Keeneland president and CEO Shannon Arvin said in a press release. “The strength of this year’s catalog and the increased number of entries are a direct reflection of the industry’s confidence in the marketplace. We welcome buyers from around the world who come to Keeneland September in search of racing excellence – and they find it.” In keeping with offering a bit of something for everyone, 189 different stallions are represented in this year’s catalog, including both domestic and international leaders. Yearlings have been arranged by their perceived quality into five books. “The September sale continues to attract more buyers than any other yearling sale in the world, and we are committed to structuring the sale in a way that supports the success of our sellers across every level of the market,” Keeneland senior director of sales operations Cormac Breathnach said in a press release. Those buyers will, for the most part, be on the sales grounds during September. Having perhaps already identified some targets on the basis of pedigree, buyers will spend hours scrutinizing the conformation of prospects as they stand in front of barns and watch the horses walk on a show ring, looking for those first hints of athletic ability. Although professional video is now made available of many yearlings on Keeneland’s website, this is still a crucial in-person process, which separates the yearling market from the breeding stock or racing stock markets, in which horses have their own racing or production records that can be quantified, thus making them easier commodities to offer online. “I think for a yearling, it is so much about the presence of the individual, standing by a horse and how the horse makes you feel,” said Price Bell Jr., general manager of consignor Mill Ridge Farm. “Mares and racehorses, kind of their proof is in their pudding, and you can be more forgiving because they produced or they ran or et cetera. But for a yearling, it’s all about the dream. And I think when people stand next to a horse and connect with it and dream about what it could become, it’s certainly a big part of being present and physical.” Maintaining the schedules of racehorses and breeding stock also lends well to digital platforms. That was the case last fall, when Keeneland combined an in-person sales atmosphere with virtual offerings of horses at its inaugural Championship Sale, held in the Del Mar paddock the week of the Breeders’ Cup. The curated catalog focused on racing and breeding stock with direct ties to the Breeders’ Cup. Given the logistics of the offerings, all cataloged horses were offered remotely, having been available for inspection in their respective locations. Walking a horse in training from their racetrack barn to the paddock for an evening sale would have disrupted their routine and presented the risk of something going amiss in the lead-up to a major race. Likewise, shipping broodmares in foal across the country can create stress and a health risk to their pregnancy. Yearlings do not present as many logistical challenges. “It’s not to say that you can’t sell a yearling well on a digital platform, but I think at least in our experience with it, those are the offerings where you get the most calls, ‘Can I come see it at the farm?’ ” said Allaire Ryan, director of sales for Lane’s End. “That just kind of supports that it is a brick-and-mortar market, predominantly. I think the digital market makes so much sense for horses in training, especially that you don’t have to switch up their schedule by shipping them to a sale, taking them out of training, that sort of thing. “But I think the yearling market will – I don’t want to say ‘always’ – be brick-and-mortar, but I don’t see the trend where it’s taken off for horses of racing age, taking off for the yearlings.” That’s not to say robust online bidding – even though the horses are inspected in-person – won’t take place at Keeneland September. An online bid-spotting station is now established in the sales pavilion alongside the traditional phone-bidding stations and is monitored by sale company staff who alert the bid spotters. In many cases, the principals of major stables – who may be overseas, or who may have commitments elsewhere on sales days – ultimately enjoy the control of bidding themselves, even though the horses have been scrutinized by their bloodstock agents or trainers on the grounds. “The agents or team members are out approving horses, but then the principals will bid online,” Bell said. “Principals really enjoy that flexibility and opportunity. It makes it a much more global enterprise, where you can be anywhere. At the end of the day, as someone who’s selling, we want as many buyers in the marketplace as possible.”