Keeneland adds Reed Ringler to sales team for client services, recruitment

Keeneland added Reed Ringler to its sales team in Lexington, Kentucky, a move that put a veteran of Darley America, Fasig-Tipton and Don Alberto Corporation inside one of the sport’s most important auction operations. Ringler began May 1 and will focus on client services, global recruitment and sales development, responsibilities that can affect which horses get cataloged, which buyers keep returning and how Keeneland reaches beyond its traditional base.

Ringler arrives with a résumé that spans much of the Thoroughbred supply chain. The California native started in the business on Darley America’s nominations team, then spent more than a decade at Fasig-Tipton working closely with consignors, breeders and buyers. He joined Don Alberto Corporation in 2022 and most recently served as chief operating officer of its U.S. operations, where he oversaw farm management, bloodstock strategy and commercial operations. That mix of auction, breeding and farm experience gives Keeneland a sales executive who has worked on both sides of the market, from the horses being produced to the buyers deciding where to spend.

Tony Lacy, Keeneland’s vice president of sales since April 2021, called the addition a continuation of a long relationship. “Reed has been closely connected with Keeneland and our team for many years, and this is a natural progression of that relationship,” Lacy said. The fit is obvious inside an organization that has made sales and racing part of the same business model since opening in October 1936.

The stakes are high because Keeneland’s sales operation continues to set the tone for the North American market. Its 2025 September Yearling Sale sold 3,070 horses for $531.5 million over 12 sessions, including 56 million-dollar yearlings and a $3.3 million Gun Runner colt that topped the market. Earlier this year, its January Horses of All Ages Sale grossed $53,920,300 including post-sale receipts, the highest January total since 2008.

That backdrop makes Ringler’s role more than a personnel move. With client services, global recruitment and sales development under one umbrella, Keeneland is betting that stronger relationships and broader reach will help sustain the kind of buying power that keeps its ring central to the sport’s future.