Despite the fact that average at the opening session of the inaugural Keeneland October yearling sale met the sales company's expectations, the unprecedented 43.1% buy-back rate and nine horses that failed to draw even the minimum bid made for a depressing day.With the 322 horses in the opening-day catalog reduced by a large number of scratches, 160 were sold for $2,110,500, an average of $13,191, with a median price of $5,000.

Top price on the day was Paramount Sales's handsome chestnut colt by A.P. Indy out of Our Dear Sue, by Roberto, purchased for $140,000 by pinhooker Christopher "Kip" Elser's Kirkwood Stables. Half-brother to stakes winner Don't Read My Lips, by Turkoman, the session topper is out of a full sister to champion Sunshine Forever.

"I had several foals (to break) out of that mare for Darby Dan that were very talented," Elser said. "That's what got me there to look at him in the first place."

Elser said the colt would probably be pinhooked to a juvenile sale next year for "a small group that is yet to be determined."

Gabriel Duignan, partner with Pat Costello in Paramount Sales, said, "That's about what we expected on today's market. It's pretty tough."

"People have to realize that the economy is in a slump," said Geoffrey Russell, Keeneland's director of sales. "There are simply more horses than there are buyers right now, especially with 1,000 horses for sale in Central Kentucky in the next couple of weeks (referring to next week's Fasig-Tipton Kentucky sale). September 11 brought the horse industry closer to the national economy overnight. Still, we averaged more than the last Friday of Keeneland September, so it's not that bad."

The sale continues at 10:30 a.m. EDT on Tuesday—John P. Sparkman