The 2026 Keeneland September Yearling Sale had a tough act to follow after the record-setting double-digit gains of a year ago, but the 12-day auction concluded Saturday with new highwater marks at every metric. The September gross, which surpassed the $500-million mark for the first time a year ago, improved again in 2026 when 2,856 yearlings grossed $536,737,900. The average–which rose 16.78% to be a record $175,859 in 2025–rose 6.87% to $187,933 this year to set a record for the sixth year in a row, while the median–which rose 14.29% to be a record $80,000 last year–was up 6.25% this year to a third straight record high of $85,000.The September sale also had its highest number of seven-figure yearlings when the 70 to hit that mark smashed the record of 56 set last year.“It can only be described as incredible,” Keeneland's Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said as the auction neared its conclusion Saturday. “We were in incredible territory last year with the increases we had over previous years, so when we were looking ahead to this year, we would have been very happy with parity and a little increase would be remarkable. We are doing that in spades.”Figures at the Keeneland September sale have trended upward for five years now, setting record gross figures in its last three renewals. The auction grossed above $400 million for the first time in 2022 when total sales reached $405,495,700. The 2024 gross was $411,749,500 before the auction broke through the $500-million for the first time with a total of $510,517,900 in 2024.“We have to recognize when we look at a four- or five-year span, the trajectory of the sale has been incredibly healthy,” said Lacy. “Four years ago, we passed the $400-million mark for the first time in Keeneland history. And now it's the second year passed $500 million. As we look at it in perspective of everything else, I think we have to be very, very pleased.”While figures were strong during the first week of the September sale, selectivity in the marketplace was evident as the median lagged behind gains set by the average and the buy-back rate ticked up from 2025 figures. But demand remained high through the auction's second week and the sale's final buy-back rate of 22.43% was on par with last year's figure of 22.32%.“The RNA rate by session–and this is with post sales–was a little higher than last year in each of the first four sessions, but improved in seven of the next eight,” said Keeneland's Senior Director of Sales Operations Cormac Breathnach. “That is indicative that the trade was really strong. With the median up and the RNAs down, that's a measure of the market strength. And when you're comparing that to a $510-million sale last year, that's really, really encouraging. We acknowledge in week one there were a couple of spots where horses we thought might have done better didn't and we will look into that. But overall, the sale has been a spectacular success.”Active to the EndFollowing a competitive opening week, major buyers remained active through the auction's later books. Bloodstock agent Donato Lanni, who signed for the very first hip through the ring at the sale, was still buying yearlings into the final book, while trainer Mark Casse and owners Vinnie Viola and Terry Finley were shopping in the back walking ring deep into the auction's second week.“When you get that strong momentum from the beginning, it keeps rolling,” said Conrad Bandoroff of Denali Stud, which sold three yearlings for $1 million or more in Book 1. “When the sale starts strong, it just keeps building. It's like a tidal wave. Buyers' orders don't get filled and they have to keep moving through the books, and there is a cascading effect. There is carryover demand that continues to hold throughout the whole sale.”With an increasing number of graded stakes winners coming from later books, buyers are seizing the opportunity to find quality offerings in the sale's second week, according to Lacy.“People are recognizing that there is quality everywhere,” Lacy said. “That's a testament to the breeders and the quality of the stock they are raising. You can find good horses all the way through that are great prospects.”Breathnach added, “The second week was extremely strong and encouraging for the long term because the demand from buyers was particularly good from Book 4 on. The market has been extremely good. That is really heartening because we work hard to provide a catalogue with horses that are something for everybody. And so, when the waves of buyers keep coming through here–and they're here on the last day–that means we have traction and that hopefully we are doing a good job on behalf of our sellers and our breeders.”WinStar Farm sold 44 horses through the ring for $14,955,000 through a variety of consignors.“We are hugely satisfied,” WinStar President Gerry Duffy said of the farm's results. “In most cases, our expectations were either met or exceeded for the horses we brought up. I love what Keeneland has done. It is not just a marketplace for people within the industry to trade horses. It is an event, an experience. The marketing and hospitality teams have both gone above a beyond to create events and hospitality. They have done an incredible job to make it more than a sale and make it more of an experience for people. It all feeds into the results we are seeing.”Brisk Post-Sale ActivityWith the inclusion of 178 post-sales transactions, a total of 3,034 yearlings sold at the 2026 September sale for a gross of $558,313,400, an average of $184,019 and a median of $85,000.The additional 178 sales brought the buy-back rate down to 21.36%.“The RNA-to-sales transactions were very active,” Lacy said. “Sometimes the RNA rate through the ring was ticking up a little bit on certain days, but when you factor in the RNA-to-sale, it actually brought it back down almost to parity with last year.”A year ago, an additional 174 post-sale transactions brought the auction's totals to 3,078 yearlings sold for a gross of $531,739,400. The average was $172,755 and the median was $80,000.A New Partnership In TownThe partnership of St. Elias Stables, West Point Thoroughbreds, Lane's End Racing and Belladonna Racing, which made its buying debut at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale in August, was the leading buyer at the September sale. The group purchased 20 yearlings for a gross of $16.2 million.“It just comes down to being disciplined,” said Monique Delk, Executive Director of Racing Operations for St. Elias. “You have to have a business plan. It doesn't make sense to buy those $3- million and $4-million horses, even though we were right there on those. Our sweet spot is a little below that. This is a numbers game. We would rather cast a bigger net to have chances to succeed. When you have one that cost $4 million, that's one egg in the basket when you could have two or three.”Bill Farish, David Ingordo, Terry Finley | KeenelandBloodstock agent Mahmud Mouni, purchasing for the Tagermeen Racing partnership under the name RTM Racing, was the second leading buyer with 25 purchased for $14.66 million.“All the people love the same horses and are trying to bid more,” said Mouni. “The quality of the horses is so good. Any horse sold in September this year, it deserved what it got when you see the market.”Douglas Scharbauer was the auction's seventh leading buyer with 10 yearlings purchased for $9.5 million.“Overall, we were pleased with what we got,” said Donny Denton, General Manager of Scharbauer's Valor Farm. “For what we were looking to buy, we had to work a little harder than last year. It was a nice group of horses and we didn't always get the one we wanted to buy at times, so we moved on and found something else that would work with our program.“We normally buy fillies,” Denton added, “but this year we just wanted to buy a good individual and didn't really matter if it was a colt or filly. We bought eight fillies and two colts. At the end of the day for us, we ended up with some fillies with strong pedigrees that we hope will be successful on the race track and good additions to our broodmare band.”Taylor Made Repeats as Leading ConsignorTaylor Made Sales Agency was the leading consignor at the September sale for the third straight year and for the 27th time since 1988. The operation sold 338 yearlings for a total of $68,602,000. Nine of the seven-figure yearlings came from the Taylor family's consignment, led by a $2.25-million son of Nyquist.Gun Runner On Top AgainGun Runner repeated as the leading sire by average at the September sale, with 57 yearlings sold for an average of $766,175. The Three Chimneys stallion had three of the auction's top 10-priced lots, including the $3.1-million second highest priced offering and 15 of the 70 seven-figure yearlings.“It's obviously a very, very strong market, with lots of [returning] buyers and plenty of new buyers, [and] many bid very aggressively,” said Three Chimneys Vice Chairman Doug Cauthen. “Those new players just added a different, stronger dimension to the bidding. There were more groups forming–some before the sale and some in the back ring–and that just added to the bidding power. It only takes two of the right people on your horse and it's going to be great sale.”Into Mischief, represented by the $3.7-million sale topper and 11 million-dollar yearlings, was the second-leading sire by average with 40 yearlings averaging $752,625.The leading freshman sire was Grade I winner Gunite, whose 72 yearlings sold for a total of $12,694,000. Horse of the Year Cody's Wish led new stallions by average with 42 sold for an average of $305,131.Up to the Mark got into the seven-figure parade with a colt from his crop selling for $1,650,000.$1.65-million son of Up to the Mark | KeenelandCity of Light Filly Tops Final SessionA filly by City of Light (hip 4224) attracted the highest bid of Saturday's final session of the Keeneland September sale when selling for $180,000 to Gary Barber. The yearling was bred by Andrew Warren and was consigned by Lisa and Tim Turney. She is out of multiple graded stakes winner Spelling Again (Awesome Again) and was one of two yearlings to sell for six figures during the session.For the session, 261 yearlings sold through the ring for a gross of $4,751,900. The session average of $18,207 was up 16.32% from the corresponding session a year ago and the median of $14,000 was up 55.56%.The post ‘Spectacular Success’: Another Record-Setting Keeneland September Sale Concludes appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.