The buy-back rate at the recently concluded Keeneland September yearling sale became the sale's most significant statistic because it dropped to 26.7% from 27.5%. The improvement in trade over last year meant at least 30 more horses found new homes than would have otherwise had the buy-back rate stayed the same as in 2009. Keeneland deserves a lot of credit for shaking up the sale’s format. The first two select evening sessions were successful as was extending Book Two across four days, which produced a solid average price of $120,000.

Sellers and their agents get most of the credit for stimulating trade, however, because they were realistic with their reserve prices. It's a tough nut to swallow going into a sale knowing the value of your horse, based on stud fee, is really 35-40% less than what you actually paid. But sellers bit that bullet and horses changed hands. In 2009 the average RNA price was $52,628, and five of those buy-backs brought a final bid of $500,000 or more. Two horses were bought back for $900,000. This year the average RNA price was $48,447. There was a son of A.P. Indy that was bought back for $1.25 million on the second night, but the rest of the sale saw only one other RNA with a final bid above $500,000. By keeping the reserves reasonable, consignors were forcing buyers to raise their hands in the sales pavilion instead of hoping for a deal back in the barns.

"If someone RNA'd a horse far beyond the market, there was no return visit to the barn," said Kerry Cauthen, managing partner of Four Star Sales. "But because most of the RNA rates were so low, it kept people in the pavilion bidding."

In the best of all possible worlds, every yearling offered at a Keeneland sale would find a buyer, race productively, then go to stud or to pampered retirement and a possible second career. But the real world doesn't work that way, and some September yearlings are destined to become unwanted horses