The number of live Thoroughbred foals produced in California has dropped by nearly 50 percent in the last five years, according to statistics released earlier this month by the Jockey Club.

According to a statement released on Sept. 16, with data compiled through Sept. 8, a total of 1,891 live foals have been registered in California this year, a decline of 25 percent from the 2,528 live foals registered from the 2009 foal crop.

A filly by Malibu Moon sold for $95,000 on Thursday during the 11th session of the 14-day Keeneland September yearling sale to top all horses sold in the session. Prices Thursday remained far stronger than the comparable session last year and total sales for the auction surpassed last year’s total, with three days still remaining.

A colt by Mineshaft out of the Forty Niner mare Date Stone was the highest-priced horse sold during the 11th session of the 14-day Keeneland September sale by late afternoon.

The colt, whose dam has produced six winners from 10 foals, was purchased by Jerry Romans for $85,000 out of the consignment of Gainesway, as agent. Date Stone’s progeny include Deputy Warlock, a stakes winner.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -  A filly by Closing Argument out of the Out of Place mare Fit Right In sold for $155,000 on Wednesday during the 10th session of the 14-day Keeneland September sale to establish the top price of all horses sold, on a day when prices remained relatively strong compared with burst-bubble returns in 2009.

The session-topping filly is a half-sister to the Grade 3 stakes winner Rightly So, winner of the 2010 Bed o’ Roses Handicap. She was purchased by W.D. North Thoroughbreds, out of the Burleson Farms consignment, acting as agent.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Bidding and prices during the ninth session of Keeneland’s 14-day September yearling sale dampened considerably on Tuesday compared to previous sessions, as the market began to show signs of weakness after relatively strong results earlier in the sale.

With 297 horses sold, gross proceeds on Tuesday were $7,995,400, for an average of $26,921. Median was $18,000. Last year for the ninth session, at a sale that had suffered steep declines compared to the sale in 2008, average was $26,919 with a median of $18,000 for 281 horses sold.

Artax, the champion sprinter of 1999, the year he won the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, has been sold to Brazilian interests, according to the Blood-Horse.

A son of Marquetry out of the Apalachee mare Raging Apalachee, Artax was formerly owned by John Smicklas and Randy Gammill and stood at Diamond G Ranch near Edmond, Okla., for a fee of $2,000 live foal. He began shuttling to Brazil for the Southern Hemisphere breeding season in 2009 under a three-year lease agreement with Adriano Quadros’s Haras Henrique Waihrich, and was expected to cover 100 mares in Brazil last year.

LEXINGTON, Ky. –A gray son of Tapit out of the Ikari mare Victory Road brought $450,000 to lead all horses sold on Monday at a strong session of the Keeneland September yearling sale in its eighth day of selling.

The Tapit colt was the 10th horse through the ring on Monday, and the $450,000 final bid was the highest price paid for a horse at the sale since Saturday. The colt was purchased by Ron Winchell out of the Brookdale Sales consignment, acting as agent for Copper Penny Stables, according to sales records.

LEXINGTON, KY. - A colt by Malibu Moon, the first foal out of the stakes-winning Out of Place mare Meditations, brought $300,000 to lead all horses sold on Sunday during the Keeneland September yearling sale.

The colt was purchased by Marc Keller, with Nicoma Sales acting as agent. The consignor was Taylor Made Sales Agency, which sold 42 horses on Sunday for total sales of $3,451,000, leading all consignors.

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A-list buyers were still on the grounds and buying Friday afternoon as the Keeneland September yearling sale neared the end of its first week, and five days of upbeat results appeared to justify Keeneland executives’ decision to reformat the 14-day auction.

At 3 p.m., the day’s high price was the $500,000 that trainer Bob Baffert paid for a Ghostzapper three-quarter-brother to Grade 1 winner Sugar Shake. The Taylor Made agency consigned the colt, who is out of the Grade 2-winning Skip Trial mare Skipping Around.