Keeneland will be implementing a Sellers Program to offer cash rewards for horses sold at any time during its signature September Yearling Sale in addition to its Book 1 Bonus program revealed this spring, the company announced Wednesday.
The Book 1 Bonus, unveiled this April, promised cash rewards to sellers and owners of yearlings sold in the premier Book 1 who go on to win Grade I/Group 1 races during their 2-year-old or 3-year-old seasons, with those rewards being doubled if the victory comes at Keeneland. Bonuses are capped at $500,000 per horse each year.
Wednesday's announcement expands the bonus program to include sellers of horses at any session of the 12-day sale, for which there are 4,139 yearlings catalogued. Bonuses will now be paid to sellers if their yearling goes on to win any Graded/Group stakes as a 2 or 3-year-old. The rewards are $10,000 for a
Grade I/Group 1 win, $7,500 for a Grade II/Group 2 victory, and $5,000 for a Grade III/Group 3 score. A maximum of $10,000 will be paid per non-Book 1 horse over the two-year period.
“We had always planned to reward sellers of graded stakes-winning horses out of the September Sale,” Keeneland Vice President of Racing and Sales Bob Elliston told the TDN. “When we got the positive response back from the announcement of the Book 1 Bonus, we just moved that execution up. This is something that fits with our mission. Keeneland always reinvests in the sport. That's why we were created, that's part of the trust that governs us.”
Keeneland also confirmed the reformatting of the first week of the September sale, with 167 elite horses to be sold in Book 1, all on the first day, Sept. 11, starting at a new time of 3 p.m. The next three days comprise all offerings from Book 2, which will now wrap up before the traditional one-day break Sept. 15, as opposed to starting after the dark day as it had in the old format. As a result, 1,203 yearlings are catalogued during the first, four-day week of this year's sale, compared to 607 during last year's three-day first week.
“We sat down with our consignors back in early summer and talked about how we could create the most momentum, starting early in the sale and carrying forward,” Elliston explained. “Two things they talked about were creating some fireworks right off the bat–that's what the new Book 1 program is about. Secondly, these buyers who come in oftentimes have significant businesses that they're responsible for in other parts of the world as well, so we have to make the most out of the limited time they can spend, and that means get more horses up front before the break.”
The catalogue for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale will be available here starting Aug. 8, while print catalogues will be mailed the week of Aug. 21.
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