Highlighted by the sale of the stakes-winning, graded-placed Smash Ticket for $600,000, 215 horses sold for $31,060,000 (including private sales) during the second session Nov. 6 of the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale.
The figures constituted a 7.9% reduction in average price at $144,465 compared to the same session a year earlier and a 13.5% reduction in gross. The decline in gross was partly due to 29 fewer horses offered and 215 horses changing hands, 14 fewer than in 2024. The median was equivalent to last year at $120,000.
Though prices for individual horses did not meet those from the more select first session Nov. 5, six horses sold for $400,000 or more, five of them mares, highlighted by Smash Ticket (Hip 383). Bloodstock agent Hunter Rankin signed for the purchase of the Legacy Bloodstock-consigned mare, in foal to Nyquist , on behalf of the Flying Dutchmen ownership group.
She was one of two mares to sell for a half million dollars or more, the other being the Grovendale Sales-consigned Music Street (Hip 307), a graded-placed Street Sense mare in foal to Taiba , for $500,000. Greg Tramontin, in the process of buying Siena Farm near Paris, Ky., purchased the mare.
Tramontin was the day's leading buyer, spending $825,000 for two mares. He paid $325,000 for the grade 3-placed Moody Woman, a 5-year-old daughter of Gormley in foal to Uncle Mo .
Trade was steady, with in-demand mares regularly bringing in $100,000 or more. Fourteen of the 15 mares Claiborne Farm sold Wednesday met that threshold. Claiborne had one mare that fell short of her reserve.
"From a seller's perspective, it was solid. Sounds like it's hard to buy too," Claiborne Farm president Walker Hancock said. "So it's good when I guess both things work out for a sales environment."
Six mares sold by Claiborne were part of the complete dispersal of breeding stock for Stuart Janney III, chairman of The Jockey Club and a lifelong Thoroughbred owner and breeder. His family has been involved in the sport for decades.
"It's obviously bittersweet for us, right?" Hancock said of the dispersal. "He's such a such a great client. He's put so much time, effort, and passion into it."
Hancock said Janney's young unraced horses will make their way to the racetrack, "So it'll carry on for the next couple years, but these mares have been cultivated for many generations by him and his family, and it's kind of his life's work in the equine industry, plus The Jockey Club. Tough to see them walk out the door."
The Janney-raced Gun Boat (Hip 603), a stakes-placed War Front mare, was the highest-priced mare sold by Claiborne Wednesday when the 5-year-old broodmare prospect fetched a $310,000 final bid by Burger Racing Stables.
"A lot of these mares and their families have hit the market before. So that's why you're seeing some of these higher prices," he said.
With sales of $4,732,000 for 34 horses, Taylor Made Sales Agency was the session's leading consignor.
Claiborne did not sell any weanlings Wednesday, withdrawing those it cataloged, but those in other consignments attracted interest. A filly by the speedy Life Is Good , consigned as Hip 287 by Runnymede Farm, agent for the complete dispersal of Breed First, was the top-priced weanling at $410,000. Classic Equine bought her.
"We all know the weanling market is one of the most stable and strong markets," Runnymede Farm president Romain Malhouitre said. "It's always good but I never expected she would make that at that level. Coming in this morning we had all the right people, so we're thankful for all of them to be there for a nice filly."
Tony Lacy, vice president of sales for Keeneland, mentioned weanlings by young stallions as having attracted buyers' interest.
"Very satisfied, a good, solid day's trade," he said about the Wednesday session. "I think it was fair. There were some sticky spots where it was a little selective in areas. The (reserve not attained) rate was consistent, in the mid-20s for quite a lot of the day and just ticked up near the end."
Nine of the final 15 horses in the ring went unsold.
Over the entire second session, 79 failed to meet their reserves, reflecting an RNA rate of 26.9%, lower than a year ago (29.1%) but a rise from the 17.4% rate on the sale's first day. Officials were also pleased with the median holding steady at $120,000 and trending ahead of last year over the sale's first two days.
"Averages are great for headlines, but the median really gives a better indicator of what the level of trade is," said Cormac Breathnach, director of sales operations at Keeneland. "And so when your median's healthy and your RNA rate is acceptable, or particularly good, as in the case of yesterday, then that means a lot of people are getting horses moved for acceptable numbers."
Cumulatively, 367 horses have grossed $96,630,000, a decrease of 2.5% from last year's $99,158,000 when 370 horses sold. The average of $263,297 was on par (-1.8%) with $267,995 in 2023, while the median of $195,000 is up 8.3% from $180,000 at this point last year.
The November Sale continues Nov. 7 with the third session beginning at 10 a.m. ET.
