Gainesway

The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale concluded its two-day Book 3 Saturday, already surpassing the total gross of the 2024 sale with still three days remaining in Lexington, KY. Through five days, the gross for 1,125 horses sold through the ring is up 31.54% from the same period last year when 1,055 horses sold for $163,353,500. Average price rose 23.25% from $154,837 to $190,996. The median of $130,000 increased 36.84% from last year's $95,000. On Saturday, Keeneland sold 259 horses through the ring for $25,328,500, a 29.55% jump from the...

by Jessica Martini & Christina Bossinakis LEXINGTON, KY - The Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale continued to churn out double-digit increases over its 2024 renewal as the eight-day auction's Book 2 section concluded Thursday. "It felt like a complete continuation from yesterday," Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said Thursday evening. "The momentum was there and there was the same enthusiasm for quality stock. The market never seemed to waver all day. It seemed to be steady and strong and consistent. Which was very encouraging. It jumped out of...

A weanling filly by Justify got the nicest sort of update Breeders' Cup Saturday: her half-sister She Feels Pretty (Karakontie {Jpn}) finished second in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She Feels Pretty has been making headlines for a long time as a multiple Grade I winner, but Monday during the weanling portion of the Fasig-Tipton November Sale, it was her half-sister's turn. Sold as Hip 54 through the Gainesway consignment, the chestnut filly hammered for $800,000 to Hugo Lascelles, agent. Born May 16, the $800,000 filly is...

Tapit (Pulpit), the number one active sire in North America by Grade I winners (34) and graded stakes winners (106) and a perennial leading broodmare sire, will stand the 2026 breeding season for $185,000 at Gainesway in Lexington, the farm said in a release Wednesday morning. The rising 25-year-old, whose progeny have amassed earnings of over $220 million to date, is in line for a third straight title as leading North American broodmare sire and remains a commercial standout. According to the Keeneland website, Tapit's 19 yearlings sold for an...

Bernie Sams has been named as the new Director of Stallion Operations at Lane's End Farm, according to a release from the breeding organization on Friday. Sams notably spent more than 20 years at Claiborne Farm where he managed the careers of accomplished stallions such as Pulpit, Arch and War Front, to name a few. Prior to his tenure at Claiborne, Sams worked at Haras de Roiville in France, Overbrook Farm and Gainesway. "It's exciting to bring on a longtime friend like Bernie to quarterback our stallion division as we...

MGISW Locked (Gun Runner--Luna Rosa, by Malibu Moon) will miss his intended start in the GI Longines Breeders' Cup Classic due to an untimely illness. The 4-year-old has been retired from racing and will stand at Gainesway for the 2026 breeding season, according to a press release on Friday morning from the farm. A son of multiple leading sire Gun Runner, Locked is the second foal from Luna Rosa, who is resposible for a yearling colt by Early Voting--a $525,000 Keeneland September buy for Bradley Thoroughbreds. Locked's dam handed the...

LEXINGTON, KY - Demand continued high right to the very end of the Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale, which concluded Thursday in Lexington with new records for gross, average and median. Through four sessions, 1,097 horses sold for $71,843,500, dwarfing the previous record gross of $58,575,500 set just last year. The 2025 auction average of $65,491 eclipsed last year's previous record figure of $52,206, while the median of $30,000 broke the record of $25,000 set in 2022. "It was a tremendous success," Fasig-Tipton President Boyd Browning said of the sale....

Grade I winner Clicquot (Quality Road--Royal Obsession, by Tapit) and graded winner Italian Soiree (Uncle Mo--Social Call, by Smart Strike) head the latest supplements to Fasig-Tipton's November Sale, held on Monday, Nov. 3 in Lexington, Kentucky. Clicquot, who won the GI Cotillion on Sept. 20, is catalogued as hip 221. In the Cotillion, the 3-year-old defeated GISWs Scottish Lassie, La Cara, and Good Cheer, winner of this year's Kentucky Oaks. Clicquot's next anticipated start is the upcoming GI Breeders' Cup Distaff at Del Mar. The grey filly won four consecutive...

Modest to a fault, breeder and former chairman of the Breeders' Cup Fred Hertrich likes to talk about how lucky he has been. "I've been very fortunate, very lucky," he said. He also said, "If you're not lucky, things won't fall your way in this business." Perhaps. But there's a lot more to it than that. Luck is not the reason Hertrich became the youngest Ford dealer in the United States, forming Frederick Ford Mercury in Seaford, Delaware. Today, he is the President of the Hertrich Family of Automobile Dealerships,...

Trainer Will Walden has come a long way in a short period of time. Training only since 2022, through Tuesday, he had 35 wins on the year from 141 starters for a win rate of 25%. His stable's earnings stood at $3.384 million. It's been a good year, in part because of a very good day. Walden won his first Grade I race last Saturday at Keeneland when the New York-bred Rhetorical (Not This Time) won the GI Coolmore Turf Mile. It was an important step for a trainer who...

You probably know that Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls, has been inducted into the College and Pro Halls of Fame and was the NFL's Most Valuable Player in 1978. You probably know that Bradshaw has been a mainstay on Fox's coverage of the NFL since 1994. But you probably didn't know that Bradshaw owns a piece of a possible starter in the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies. Along with Magdalena Racing and Graham Leveston, Bradshaw is the co-owner of the GIII Pocahontas Stakes winner Taken by the Wind (Rock...

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, which set its record gross with a full six sessions to go, concluded its 12-day run Saturday in Lexington with new highwater marks for, not just gross, but also average, median and total number of million-dollar-plus offerings. "What an incredible September sale," Keeneland President and CEO Shannon Arvin said. "We definitely had reasons to be optimistic going in, but the strength of the results day after day exceeded even our highest expectations. From start to finish, the energy on the grounds never waned. Buyers from...