Racehorse market breaks records riding high on tax breaks, stock market gains — SkimNews
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- Keeneland September Yearling Sale grossed $536.7 million, surpassing last year's record by about $5 million, with 70 yearlings selling for at least $1 million (up from 56 last year) and the average yearling price climbing nearly 7% to $187,933.
- The 'one big beautiful bill' permanently reinstated 100% bonus depreciation, allowing buyers to write off the full cost of a racehorse in the first year of ownership; breeder Len Green called the tax incentive a key driver of strong recent auction results, noting last year's sale jumped 24% two months after OBBBA was signed.
- Middle East buyers from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Libya remained a prominent presence at the top end of the market despite concerns the Gulf conflict would deter them, accounting for about a quarter of yearlings purchased by international buyers, per Keeneland CEO Shannon Arvin.
- Peter Brant and a group of investors paid $3.7 million — the auction's top lot — for a dark bay colt sired by Into Mischief, the champion stallion behind three Kentucky Derby winners.
- The auction's biggest buyer was a newly formed partnership of four racing partnerships and owners that spent $16.2 million on 20 horses combined; Arvin said partnerships have not dampened sales and that joined-up buyers 'tend to spend more' than solo purchasers.
- Keeneland does not break out buyer numbers by country, and Arvin pointed to higher purses in many racing jurisdictions as an additional factor behind the record results.
Why it matters: The 100% bonus depreciation in OBBBA effectively converts a racehorse purchase into a first-year tax write-off on par with commercial real estate and private jets — and the $536.7 million Keeneland total shows the incentive is pulling eight-figure capital from Gulf ruling families and U.S. partnership syndicates even as the broader Middle East conflict raises geopolitical risk.
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