VanMeter Sales

by Jessica Martini, Christina Bossinakis and Jill Williams LEXINGTON, KY - Led by a $3.3-million son of Gun Runner, the Keeneland September Yearling Sale powered through a record-setting opening session Monday in Lexington. When the dust had settled after the first of two elite Book 1 sessions, 106 yearlings had sold for $69,240,000. The average was $653,208--the highest ever at a single September session--and the median was $537,500. With just 28 horses reported not sold, the buy-back rate was 20.90%. Those figures are ahead of last year's opening session, when...

The Flightline half-brother (hip 10) to dual Breeders' Cup winner and young sire Golden Pal (Uncle Mo) brought $1,500,000 from John Stewart's Resolute Racing. Consigned by VanMeter Sales as agent and bred by Randall E. Lowe, the colt named Stock Rising was the first Flightline yearling through the ring at Keeneland September's opening session Monday. Stewart made a strong winning bid, jumping the price from $1.25m straight to $1.5m to secure the son of MSW/GISP Lady Shipman (Midshipman).   Resolute making fireworks early to score Hip 10 @keenelandsales 🎇 A...

LEXINGTON, KY - Domestic and international shoppers galore were steadily making their way through the sales barns on a blissful Sunday morning in the Bluegrass--the quiet before the storm--a day before bidding opens for the 12-day Keeneland September Yearling Sale in Lexington. Following a competitive 2-year-old sales season this spring, the yearling auctions opened with strong demand across town in July and continued in upstate New York last month, leaving consignors optimistic of a strong market a day before the industry's bellwether yearling auction begins. "I think everybody on the...

The bargain purchase of a Blame filly 10 years ago has yielded Ron and Barbara Perry's Cicero Farms a pair of GI Ballerina Stakes victories, but when Marley's Freedom produced a colt in 2024, the Perrys made the decision to go to market. The yearling by Uncle Mo (hip 34) will go through the sales ring during the first session of the Keeneland September Sale Monday with the VanMeter Sales consignment. "I want to be sure he has the best opportunity to be a superstar," Barbara Perry said of the...

Australia's Chatsworth Stud went to $400,000 to purchase R Harper Rose (Khozan), the 2024 GIII Forward Gal Stakes winner and topper of Fasig-Tipton's March Digital Sale, which closed late Tuesday afternoon. A broodmare prospect, R Harper Rose was consigned by Gainesway as hip 7. A total of 85 horses sold for $3,095,000, an average of $36,411 and a median of $15,000. After outs, the sale netted a clearance rate of 85% while offering horses of racing age, racing/broodmare prospects, broodmares, 2-year-olds in training, and short yearlings. "We are very pleased...

Growing up in the Thoroughbred industry, Headley VanMeter has always dreamed of starting his own consignment. Now, he is doing it by going out on his own this summer under the banner of VanMeter Sales. "Starting a consignment has always been a goal of mine," said VanMeter. "Everything I have done to this point has been to build a strong foundation as a horsemen. I feel like now is a great time to try to start my own business. I've been really fortunate to be surrounded by a lot of...