For the next few weeks the international thoroughbred spotlight will be on Lexington on the Keeneland sales pavilionJust after 11:00 Monday morning, a shiny bay colt was led through a sliding wooden door and into the sales ring. In less than a minute, the bid closed at $475,000 and the Keeneland September Yearling Sale was underway.
This sale is the largest and most prestigious thoroughbred auction in the industry and there are top notch buyers and sellers in Lexington from all over the world. But if you don’t have the kind of cash it takes to place a bid, that doesn’t mean you can’t be part of the fun. Amy Gregory is the Director of Communications at Keeneland. “The sale is open to the public. There’s no cost for parking or admittance or anything. It’s great theatre because of the sale and great beauty because of all the horses and it’s such an international event too that it’s fun to people watch. You’ll hear so many different languages out here. You can come out and watch all day, grab a catalogue, come back to the show rings and look at the horses up close. It really is great theatre”
The sales start each morning at 10:00. It runs through Sunday September 25th every day except this Thursday.