LEXINGTON, Ky. – A $525,000 Nyquist colt led what continued to be a strong market for newly turned yearlings as the Keeneland January sale wrapped up on Tuesday night with strong figures. Keeneland reported 666 horses sold in two sessions for gross receipts of $51,233,800. That smashed the gross of $28,841,300 at the 2025 sale despite it being held over three sessions, with 441 horses sold. Both sets of figures include only horses sold through the ring, not yet including private sales that Keeneland will later factor into official results. This is the first time the sale has surpassed $50 million in gross sales since 2008, when 1,493 were sold across seven sessions for $70,446,000. Keeneland vice president of sales Tony Lacy and senior director of sales operations Cormac Breathnach said that, as the catalog for the January sale was coming together, back in November, they faced the decision of keeping to the three-day format or compressing the sale into two days. They chose the latter, hoping to offer fuller groups of horses that would maintain market energy – and also considering factors such as the weather, with a longer sale perhaps creating additional risk of running into inclement winter conditions. Ultimately, they both felt the calculated risk of two days worked. :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. “I think it maintained the energy,” Lacy said. “It allowed it to be compressed into two solid days where the buyers were here, the back ring was packed, [and] a lot of people were here who were very engaged. ... It never felt like it had a lull.”  With two seven-figure sales leading the way – last year, three mares shared the sale’s overall top price at $700,000 – the average price was $76,928, jumping 18 percent from a cumulative $65,400 in 2025. Although it is not a true apples-to-apples comparison because the sale format has changed a number of times, this is the highest average at Keeneland's January sale. The previous high-water mark was $50,768 in 2019, when 951 horses sold over four sessions. The median price, considered an important figure because it samples a bigger swath of the market and is not influenced by outlying prices as much as the average may be, did drop 14 percent to $30,000 from $35,000. However, the buyback rate, also considered a crucial figure in market health, improved to 22 percent compared to 30 percent last year. “It was a very honest and strong market overall,” Lacy said. “I think the sellers were happy. The buyers through it was a competitive market.” A white-hot weanling marketplace, which followed a record-setting yearling sale season, helped fuel November’s high-end mixed sales. Foals from the same crop – known as “short yearlings,” as they’ve only just passed a turn of the calendar – were thus considered likely to remain in demand at Keeneland's January sale. "There were a lot of people who had unspent money from November who were pleased to see the quality of the stock here," Lacy said. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  The projections were realized, as a total of five short yearlings at Keeneland January sold for more than $400,000, all surpassing the top price in that category at last year's edition of this sale. Those were led by an $800,000 Gun Runner colt purchased by Marc Gunderson in Monday's opening session to rank as the fourth most expensive yearling colt ever sold at Keeneland January.   Tuesday's session topper was a $525,000 Nyquist colt purchased by En Fuego Stables. He was consigned by Conley Bloodstock as agent for breeder Bill Justice's Justice Stables.   "En fuego" also describes the recent run for champion Nyquist. After siring champion Immersive in 2024, he rose to become a top 10 general sire in 2025, with four Grade 1 winners led by Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile winner Nysos. "We believed in this colt from the beginning," consignor Carolyn Conley said. "I knew he was the nicest foal out of this mare so far. ... I wanted to wait for the September sale, but Bill is an expert businessman and he said Nyquist is as hot as a firecracker, so we are going to January." The colt is a May foal, and Conley said he is showing rapid improvement. "The colt improved while he was here at Keeneland," she said. "I swear he grew and gained weight. He has a beautiful disposition. And his walk – wow." The colt is out of the stakes-placed Lemon Drop Kid mare Sorrentina Lemon, who has not yet produced a winner from two starters. English champion Zilzal, champion steeplechaser Demonstrative, Grade/Group 1 winners Negligee, and Olympic Jolteon appear on the catalog page. No broodmares or broodmare prospects in Tuesday's session were able to meet the exceptionally high bar set in Monday's opener when Tiffany Case, dam of Grade 1 winner Nitrogen, sold for $3.2 million and Grade 1 winner Simply in Front brought $2 million. Tiffany Case's purchase by Mandy Pope's Whisper Hill Farm put her in the record book as the sixth most expensive horse ever sold at the Keeneland January sale.  The leading broodmare in Tuesday's session was a private sale that is not yet factored in to the official sale figures, as Orinoco River, a stakes-placed War Front mare in foal to Not This Time, was privately purchased for $500,000 by St. George Sales after going through the ring. This granddaughter of champion Cash Run was consigned by Eaton Sales as agent. The top-priced mare sold through the ring was Black Magic Woman, an Uncle Mo mare in foal to Vekoma, purchased for $425,000 by LC Racing. This winning half-sister to Grade 1 winner Magnum Moon was consigned by Claiborne Farm as agent.    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.