80 Facts About Northern Dancer

Northern Dancer was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby.

Northern Dancer then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century.

Northern Dancer is considered a Canadian icon and was inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1965.

At age two, Northern Dancer was named the Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt after winning both the Summer Stakes and Coronation Futurity in Canada, plus the Remsen Stakes in New York.

Northern Dancer followed up a record-setting victory in the Kentucky Derby by winning the Preakness Stakes.

Northern Dancer retired to stud in 1965 at Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.

Northern Dancer was an immediate success when his first crop reached racing age in 1968, and the success of his second crop, led by English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, brought his name to the international stage.

Northern Dancer was relocated to the Maryland branch of Windfields Farm, where he became the most sought sire of his time.

Northern Dancer was a bay stallion with a crooked white blaze and three white socks.

Northern Dancer was bred in Oshawa, Ontario, by Canadian business magnate Edward P Taylor, owner of Windfields Farm.

Northern Dancer was from the first crop of Nearctic and was the first foal out of the mare Natalma, whose sire was Native Dancer.

All Thoroughbreds in the Northern Hemisphere have an official birth date of January 1 but Northern Dancer was foaled late in the season, on May 27,1961.

At maturity, Northern Dancer had powerful hindquarters along with excellent balance and agility.

Northern Dancer's legs are barely long enough to keep his tail off the ground.

Northern Dancer probably takes a hundred more strides than anyone else, but he's harder to pass than a third martini.

Northern Dancer was ridden by apprentice jockey Ron Turcotte, who was instructed not to use the whip but gave the colt a tap at the sixteenth pole anyway, whereupon Northern Dancer "exploded".

Northern Dancer beat seven horses for a purse of $2,100.

Northern Dancer entered into a speed duel at the start of the race, setting up the race for Ramblin' Man to come from behind and win.

Northern Dancer broke well but allowed Northern Flight to take a commanding lead.

At the halfway mark, Northern Dancer was third on the rail, 15 lengths back, but gradually closed the gap on the far turn.

Five days later, Northern Dancer faced a field of 14 rivals in the Coronation Futurity Stakes, the richest race for Canadian two-year-olds.

Northern Dancer came back to the barn bleeding from the beginning of a quarter crack.

Northern Dancer was ridden by Manuel Ycaza, and won by eight lengths over Bupers, who had won the Belmont Futurity.

Northern Dancer was rated at 126 pounds in the Canadian Free Handicap for two-year-olds, five pounds above Ramblin Road.

Northern Dancer was bumped at the start and fell to the back of the pack.

Northern Dancer recovered and steadily advanced up the rail, only to become trapped behind several horses.

Northern Dancer was bumped again and eventually finished third behind Chieftain.

Northern Dancer settled into second and moved to the lead in the stretch after some gentle urging by Shoemaker, winning by two lengths over Mr Brick, with Quadrangle a further eight lengths back in third.

Norther Northern Dancer quickly took the lead at the head of the stretch and then held off a challenge by The Scoundrel, eventually winning by a length.

Northern Dancer rated in second behind a slow early pace until the head of the stretch when he coasted to the lead.

Northern Dancer settled during the warm up, only to balk when asked to enter the starting gate.

Northern Dancer got the jump on Hill Rise, who became tangled up in traffic as the front-runners started to fade.

Northern Dancer had a lead of about two lengths, but Hill Rise had gotten in the clear and started to make up ground.

Hill Rise closed with giant strides, but Northern Dancer prevailed by a neck in a new race record of two minutes flat that stood until Secretariat broke it in 1973.

Northern Dancer became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby, making front-page headlines across Canada.

Northern Dancer really did some running from the quarter pole to the eighth pole, and he was running his gamest at the wire.

Northern Dancer settled into third place with Hill Rise tracking just behind.

Quadrangle moved to the lead down the backstretch and Northern Dancer started to make his move around the far turn.

Northern Dancer received hundreds of cards wishing him success in the upcoming Belmont Stakes.

When finally asked to run, Northern Dancer closed the gap to within half a length in midstretch.

Northern Dancer raced from well off the pace, trailing the field around the first turn and still in sixth down the backstretch.

Northern Dancer remains the only Kentucky Derby winner to take the Queen's Plate.

Northern Dancer was named the Champion Three-Year-Old Colt of 1964 in the United States.

Northern Dancer was named the three-year-old champion in Canada and Canadian Horse of the Year.

Northern Dancer was the high weight at 128 pounds on the Daily Racing Form's American Free Handicap for three-year-olds, one pound above both Roman Brother and Quadrangle.

Northern Dancer was the high weight at 132 pounds on the Canadian Free Handicap, 12 pounds more than Langcrest.

Northern Dancer's earnings totaled $580,000, then a record for a Canadian-bred horse.

An asterisk after the odds means Northern Dancer was the post-time favourite.

Northern Dancer retired to stud in 1965 at Taylor's Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, for an initial fee of $10,000.

Northern Dancer was bred to 35 mares, with 21 live foals being produced in 1966.

Northern Dancer's leading performer was Nijinsky, who was purchased by Irish trainer Vincent O'Brien at the Canadian yearling sale for $84,000.

Northern Dancer's published fee, with no guarantee that a live foal would result, then started a rapid increase: $100,000 in 1980, $150,000 in 1981, $250,000 in 1982, $300,000 in 1983 and $500,000 in 1984.

Northern Dancer was one of the 20th century's most successful Thoroughbred sires.

Northern Dancer was the 1971 leading sire in North America and in 1977 when international earnings are included.

Northern Dancer's progeny were highly sought in Europe, and he became the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1970,1978,1983, and 1984.

When Northern Dancer was 20 years old, his owners turned down an offer of US$40 million from a European syndicate for him.

In 1984,12 yearlings by Northern Dancer sold for an unrivaled sale-record average price of US$3,446,666.

Northern Dancer was retired from stud on April 15,1987, having started to experience heart problems and arthritis.

Northern Dancer was pensioned at Windfields Farm in Maryland and when the farm was sold, a special clause was written to guarantee his lifelong right to live there.

Northern Dancer was loaded in a specially built oak coffin and then wrapped in a blanket he had won during his racing career.

In 1964, Northern Dancer was the American Champion Three-Year-Old Male Horse and the Canadian Horse of the Year.

In 1976, Northern Dancer was an inaugural inductee to the new Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame and was inducted into the United States Horse Racing Hall of Fame.

In 1977, Northern Dancer won three world sires' premiership titles for the number of international stakes winners, international stakes wins, and total stake earnings of his progeny.

Northern Dancer was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1998.

In 2012, Breyer Animal Creations released a portrait model of Northern Dancer sculpted by Jeanne Mellin Herrick.

In 2018, the city of Oshawa announced that a new elementary school, located near what used to be Windfields Farm at the corner of Northern Dancer Drive and Bridle Road, would be named after the horse.

Northern Dancer appears at least once in the pedigree of every contestant in the 2018 Kentucky Derby.

For example, Northern Dancer sired 645 foals in 20 years at stud, whereas his grandson Danehill sired 2,499 foals in 14 years at stud.

Statistical analysis has shown that inbreeding to Northern Dancer is on average slightly less effective than when stallions of his line are bred to mares who do not have Northern Dancer in their pedigree.

Notable sires that are inbred to Northern Dancer include Oasis Dream, Rock of Gibraltar, Hernando, Spinning World, Redoute's Choice, and Frankel.

Northern Dancer lines were originally outcrossed on descendants of Mr Prospector or Nasrullah, but this became so common that it is increasingly difficult to find horses from these lines who do not carry Northern Dancer breeding.

In North America, Northern Dancer is farther back in the pedigree of most major sires, decreasing the risks associated with inbreeding.

Northern Dancer has crossed well with mares from other Northern Dancer lines.

Northern Dancer was by Nearctic, who in turn was sired by Nearco, an Italian-bred horse who was undefeated in fourteen starts.

Nearctic was Canadian Horse of the Year in 1958, a feat that Northern Dancer matched in 1964.

Northern Dancer's broodmare sire was Native Dancer, who was an important sire of sires, chiefly through Raise A Native and Mr Prospector.

Northern Dancer was thus an immediate descendant of three of the most important bloodlines of the middle twentieth century.

Northern Dancer's dam Natalma was a stakes-placed mare who was disqualified from a win in the Spinaway Stakes.

Northern Dancer developed a knee chip in June 1960 and Taylor decided to breed her to Nearctic in his first year at stud rather than keep her in training.

Northern Dancer's daughters have further extended the family: Arctic Dancer, a full sister of Northern Dancer, became the dam of La Prevoyante, 1972 Canadian Horse of the Year; Spring Adieu became the second dam of leading international sire Danehill ; and Raise the Standard is the granddam of important European sire Machiavellian.