# Keeneland Championship Sale Moves to Historic Castleton Estate **Published:** 2026-08-12T18:22:04.000Z **Source:** [Keeneland](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) **AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) **Canonical:** https://feeds.lexingtonky.news/article/keeneland-championship-sale-moves-to-historic-castleton-estate LEXINGTON, Ky. — [Keeneland announced that its third annual Championship Sale will take place on Oct. 28 at the iconic Castleton Farm](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton), marking the auction house's first foray into holding the prestigious event outside California and a historic partnership between two internationally recognized brands. The evening sale, held the Wednesday before the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland, will culminate in the offering of Castleton itself as the final lot — a first-of-its-kind collaboration between Keeneland and Bluegrass Sotheby's International Realty. [The Championship Sale offers buyers access to fractional interests in Breeders' Cup contenders, stallion shares, breeding rights, elite broodmares, racing prospects and other rare offerings.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) [Founded in 1793 by John Breckinridge, Castleton is one of the Bluegrass' oldest and most storied horse farms.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) [The property spans over 1,000 acres and is located near Lexington.](https://grokipedia.com/page/castleton_lyons) [The farm rose to prominence in the late 19th century, producing 1896 Kentucky Derby winner Ben Brush among other champions.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) More recently, [under the stewardship of the Ryan family, Castleton bred, raced and stood three-time Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, who earned $6.16 million.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) [The 2025 Championship Sale grossed $7.675 million, led by a $3 million share in leading sire Not This Time and a $1 million interest in Bentornato, whose victory in the Cygames Breeders' Cup Sprint just three days later rewarded buyers Michael and Jules Iavarone.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) [The inaugural 2024 sale grossed $4.325 million.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) The 951-acre property includes a Greek Revival mansion dating to 1840, ornate ironwork gates and tree-lined drives. [Current owner Shane Ryan said the farm "has existed as an equine operation for more than two centuries" and described his family as "the sixth stewards of this historic farm," adding that "there has to be a magnificent seventh steward out there."](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) [With Keeneland hosting the 2026 Breeders' Cup on Oct. 30-31, the Championship Sale will make its Central Kentucky debut.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) [To learn more about the sale and pre-registration for bidding, visit Keeneland.com, or for Castleton information, contact listing agent Ken Donworth of Bluegrass Sotheby's International Realty.](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) ## Sources - [Keeneland](https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton) - [Information about Castleton's location and acreage](https://grokipedia.com/page/castleton_lyons) --- This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Keeneland, enriched with 2 web searches. The original source is available at https://www.keeneland.com/media/news/keenelands-third-championship-sale-take-place-oct-28-legendary-castleton.