Keeneland

Shane and Josh Hennessy grew up in an Ohio family whose only connection to horse racing was a yearly tradition of watching the Kentucky Derby on television, but the two brothers are more than making up for lost time. Both now serve as managers at Kentucky farms which enjoyed strong results at the recently concluded Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Josh is in his third year at the Knelman family's Farfellow Farms, while Shane joined forces with Robbie and Susie Lyons's Hartwell Farm last December. "I came down to University of...

The silks of Lee and Susan Searing's CRK Stable have been a formidable presence in California in recent years thanks in large part to MGSWs Express Train (Union Rags) and Midcourt (Midnight Lute). Both stable stars have excelled in their division for trainer John Shirreffs with Midcourt taking last year's GII San Pasqual S. and Express Train claiming winning honors in the same race this year before also adding the GII San Diego H. to his growing resume. While separated by two years in age, the stablemates also share the...

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale, launched last week with a Bluegrass band, mimosas, and a boutique Book 1 section, continued its momentum straight through to the end of its 11th session, concluding with a sales record average, median and buy-back rate. The gross, which was over $300,000,000 for three straight years before falling to $248,978,700 during the pre-vaccination pandemic in 2020, rebounded to $352,823,000 by the time the last hip went through the ring Friday evening. It was the auction's sixth highest gross in history. "The hope was that we...

When Ashley Hobgood made her debut in the Keeneland September Sales ring on Sunday, it marked not only another sign of change for the sales company, but a sign of growing diversity as well. Not only did Hopgood's entrance into the ring come while announcer Gabby Gaudet was on the stand, quite possibly marking the first time that a majority of women were manning the fort, but also the first time that the job of ringman was handled by a non-African American female. Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy...

Demand remained high as the Book 4 section of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale concluded with a daughter of first-crop sire Collected leading home a top one-two-three finish for Ontario-breds when selling for a session-topping $320,000 to Speedway Stables. Bloodstock agent Marette Farrell made the winning bid on behalf of Peter Fluor and K.C. Weiner's operation and the yearling was bred and consigned by Dave Anderson's Anderson Farms. "It's the greatest market I've ever seen in my lifetime," Anderson said of the September sale. "I have never been so busy...

In lieu of a funeral, a Celebration of Life for Mike Recio will be held at the Thoroughbred Club of America next to Keeneland on Friday, Oct. 1, from 6:30-9:00pm. Everyone who was a friend, family, business associate, etc., is invited to come tell some stories, and celebrate his life. Food and drinks will be served. Bloodstock agent and consignor Mike Recio passed away Sept. 16, at the age of 46 after battling sepsis. The son of respected Ocala horseman Bill Recio, he had been involved in the Thoroughbred racing...

Less than 48 hours after what was arguably her greatest achievements in the horse business, Rosilyn Polan was back at Keeneland with a pair of yearlings slated to go through the ring on Sunday. Earlier in the week during Book 2 of the Keeneland September Sale, her City of Light colt out of the Tapit mare Anchorage became the probable sale topper when he sold for $1.7 million to Woodford Racing, Talla Racing and West Point Thoroughbreds. But now it was on to Book 3 and the spirited breeder and...

The Keeneland September Yearling Sale marched into its second week with continued competitive bidding as the auction's Book 4 section opened Monday in Lexington. "There is unbelievable trade here today," said consignor Peter O'Callaghan of Woods Edge Farm. "There is just a huge crowd up there. And they'd knock you down for a good horse. I'm actually not surprised it's this strong. Not with the way it started and the amount of people who have not yet got to buy horses. It was clear that trickle down effect was going...

Well-respected consignor Jim Herbener, Jr. died Sunday morning of an apparent heart attack. Herbener, who was in the midst of selling horses at the Keeneland September sale, died at his home in Georgetown, Kentucky. He was 69. His death was confirmed by his long-time friend, John Williams. Herbener was the consignor of seven yearlings in the sale, including an Arrogate filly who sold Sunday for $80,000. Williams said that he and Herbener's daughter Heather, will team up to sell the remainder of the Herbener horses left in the sale. "He...

If City of Light was considered to be in demand after the close of Book 1 at the Keeneland September Sale, his yearlings were perhaps even more challenging to get ahold of by the end of Book 2. First a colt by the first-crop stallion out of the graded stakes-producing mare Ghostslayer (Ghostzapper) brought $1.05 million late in the second session of the auction on Tuesday, selling as Hip 376, but then the next day another colt by the Lane's End sire, Hip 612 out of SP Anchorage (Tapit), brought...

by Jessica Martini & Christie DeBernardis LEXINGTON, KY - The two-session Book 2 of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale concluded with another day of competitive bidding and two additional seven-figure yearlings Thursday in Lexington, bringing the total number of lots to surpass the million-dollar mark to 15. "Excellent," Keeneland's vice president of sales Tony Lacy said when asked to gauge the day's activity. "The median was up 48% and the average was up 37% [for the session] and we've just passed the $200,000,000 mark for gross sales for the first...

A colt by Street Sense became the second of the day to sell for $1 million when bloodstock agent Liz Crow, sitting alongside Brad Weisbord and Spendthrift Farm's Ned Toffey, signed the ticket on hip 1022 late in the fourth session of the Keeneland September sale Thursday. Crow and Weisbord have been busy all week buying yearlings for their colts group partnership. Prior to their million-dollar purchase in partnership with Spendthrift, they had acquired 16 yearlings for $4,980,000. Bred and consigned by the Knelman family's Farfellow Farms, the yearling is...