$300M and Climbing: Tropical Racing Joins Record-Smashing Keeneland Sale

The 2025 Keeneland September Yearling Sale opened with record-breaking momentum, surpassing $300 million in sales faster than ever before and shattering a two-decade record with 53 yearlings selling for seven figures in just one week. Described as a “feeding frenzy” by Brian Graves of Gainesway, the auction reaffirmed Keeneland’s status as the Wall Street of horse racing.

In the midst of this historic market, Tropical Racing executed its largest acquisition to date, securing over $2.7 million worth of elite yearlings. These investments are more than just additions to the stable—they are mission-critical assets that elevate Tropical Racing’s racing operation while strengthening its long-term financial foundation.

Lets dig in.

Tropical Racing Adds Fourteen Elite Yearlings at 2025 Keeneland Sale, Highlighted by $750K Gun Runner Colt

The 2025 Keeneland September Yearling sale featured the best and brightest young Thoroughbreds pacing through the ring. This year, Tropical Racing acquired fourteen horses, well-bred prospects set for exciting track debuts in 2026.

$200K No Nay Never Colt Brings Proven Speed and Elite Bloodlines to Tropical Racing

Hammering for $200,000 was a bay colt by talented sprinter No Nay Never, known for transmitting speed to his offspring; like Justify, No Nay Never is a son of the late Scat Daddy. Descendants of the colt’s granddam, stakes winner Diamond Trim, have proven to be good middle-distance and sprint runners; those numbers include multiple Irish and German highweights, plus 2022 Irish Two Thousand Guineas (G1) winner Homeless Songs.

Our newest colt is connected to the Coolmore program, home to some of the sport’s top bloodlines. The sire of No Nay Never. Unbeaten at two, No Nay set a course record at Royal Ascot – a European track with over 200 years of history.

Watch him run…

You’ll see why the Racing Post described No Nay as a “raw and explosive talent.”

Tropical Racing Invests $525K in Quality Road Filly from Champion Zaftig Bloodline

A Quality Road filly clocked in at $525,000. She is out of the War Front daughter Lasy W, whose dam was 2008 Acorn Stakes (G1) victress Zaftig. This family crosses beautifully with Danzig-line stallions such as War Front. For example, Zaftig foaled grade-2 placed Spinoff (by Danzig son Hard Spun), while Zaftig’s dam, grade 1 winner Zoftig, produced grade 1 winner Zo Impressive (also by Hard Spun). This family is a consistent one, perhaps most notably yielding the likes of champions Swale and Forty Niner in the 1980s.

With progeny earnings of $123 million, his offspring have captured some of the Sport of Kings’ biggest prizes. cI’m talking about races like the Breeders’ Cup, the Pegasus World Cup, and the the Preakness.

Even more important…

Quality Road’s has produced eight million-dollar earners. And half have been fillies, just like ours. One of the best examples is Abel Tasman. This Quality Road filly earned $2.2 million on the track and won the Kentucky Oaks (the female equivalent of the Derby). After winning, Coolmore cut a $5 million check to bring this filly into their private broodmare band.

In short…

Quality Road doesn’t just sire world-class runners. He sires world-class broodmares.  And world-class broodmares are a foundational asset for Tropical racing.

Tropical Racing Picks Up Golden Pal Colt for $60K in First-Crop Opportunity

To round out the first day of the sale, Tropical Racing scooped up a Golden Pal colt for a bargain $60,000. This is Golden Pal’s first crop to hit the sales; his yearlings have averaged $175,028 at auction so far. A graded stakes winner all four years he raced, this son of Uncle Mo is one to keep an eye on.

Golden Pal was one of the fastest turf sprinters America has ever seen. At his prime, it was said he was “nearly impossible to beat.” He won two Breeders’ Cup races, set a stakes record in the Woodford, and retired with $1.8 million in earnings.

This is Golden Pal’s first yearling crop, and our colt taps into that world-class speed bloodline. A late June foal, he was a value buy.

Patience will be key… And yet, already, we can tell he carries the look and mind of a future runner.

Tropical Racing Secures Colt from Blue Hen Too Chic Line, Family of Olympiad and Rich Strike

Inbred to grade 1 winner and sire Indian Charlie, this colt boasts as his fourth dam blue hen Too Chic. Among Too Chic’s recent descendants are 2022 Jockey Club Gold Cup (G1) victor Olympiad and 2019 Woodward Stakes (G1) winner Preservationist, whose son Antiquarian won the Jockey Club Gold Cup winner last week; another descendant was Keen Ice, who took the 2015 Travers Stakes (G1) and sired 2022 Derby victor Rich Strike.

Tropical Racing Lands $750K Gun Runner Colt Out of Elite Dubawi Mare, Family of Too Darn Hot

But the bold-type purchase was a regally-bred son of Gun Runner, who sold for $750,000. This stallion needs no introduction, as he’s sired multi-million sale toppers and grade 1 winners aplenty in 2025; just last week, his son Brant annexed the Del Mar Futurity. The colt’s dam, Delectable You (by Dubawi), is a full sister to three group winners, highlighted by multiple group 1 winner and sire Too Darn Hot. Those siblings’ dam, globe-trotting group 1 winner Dar Re Mi, is herself a half-sister to several champions who earned their laurels in countries ranging from Spain to Hong Kong.

Gun Runner is the highest-earning horse in the history of U.S. racing. Retiring with nearly $16 million in purses, he won the Breeders’ Cup Classic, the Pegasus World Cup, and set records in the Whitney and Stephen Foster. As a stallion, he has quickly risen to the front ranks, siring 15 millionaires and establishing himself as a sire of sires.

We believe our Gun Runner colt has that same stallion potential. From the minute we saw him, this colt grabbed our attention.

He showed the mental toughness it takes to be a top-level performer.

To round out the Keeneland September sale, Tropical Racing brought home an additional nine yearlings. Hip 933 was a daughter of perennial leading sire Medaglia d’Oro, currently ranked number eleven by progeny earnings nationwide. Daughters of Medaglia d’Oro have produced 130 stakes winners so far, meaning this filly has plenty of potential as a future broodmare. The filly’s dam is a half-sister to graded-placed stakes winner Fore Left.

Hip 1060 was a Bolt d’Oro colt who sold for $260,000. A grade 1 winner and sire, Bolt d’Oro slots in at number twenty-two nationally among sires by progeny earnings. This colt’s dam, Curls in Place (by Curlin), produced millionaire and grade 3 winner Big Invasion (by Declaration of War), as well as two stakes-placed winners. This famed female family traces to Boudoir II, whose other female-line descendants include champions like Gallant Bloom and Majestic Prince.

From Unforgotten to Jeltrin: Tropical Racing Invests in Strongly Bred Yearlings

Munnings Filly and Olympiad Colt Add Depth to Tropical Racing’s Keeneland Acquisitions

Elite Bloodlines Continue: Tropical Racing Invests in Girvin and Olympiad Colts