Windfields -- end of an era · 22.08.09
For over half a century, the Canadian Thoroughbred breeding universe was arguably centred at E.P. Taylor’s Windfields Farm near Oshawa, Ontario. Now that centre will no longer hold, as it was announced yesterday that Windfields will close following the dispersal of its remaining bloodstock at this year’s Keeneland November sale.
Since it was founded in 1936, Windfields produced 48 champions and 361 stakes winners. Horses bred at the farm are credited with winning more than 10,000 races, and have earned more than $84 million. Windfields was North America’s leading breeder of stakes winners 13 times, and was the leading breeder by earnings nine times. Horses owned by Windfields Farm have won the Queen’s Plate, Canada’s most important race for three-year-olds, eleven times, and the Canadian Triple Crown twice (1959 and 1963).
Windfields’ most prominent racehorse was Northern Dancer, who won the 1964 Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Queen’s Plate. However, if anything Northern Dancer had even greater success as a sire — he had an indelible effect on international breeding over the past four decades. Three of his sons — Nijinsky, The Minstrel, and Secreto — won the Epsom Derby, with Nijinsky going on to win the English Triple Crown in 1970. In the 1983 Keeneland Sales horse auction, another of Northern Dancer’s sons, later named Snaafi Dancer, became the first yearling to sell for $10 million.
It is likely that most of the property will be either sold off to developers and gradually turned into residential subdivisions, or become part of the campus of the University of Ontario Institute of Technology. The centre of the farm, including the major buildings and the graves of Northern Dancer and other prominent Windfields horses, will be preserved as a park and historic site.
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What do you think?
Big Daddy was the greatest sire of the century. I understand that in his later years at stud, he was so GOOD at what he did that they had to move him to an area FAR removed from the vans bringing in the prospective broodmares. He would get so worked up that they were concerned that, at his age, he would fall.
Nice job to have.
— Dr. TImothy Yatcak · Aug 23, 09:18 AM · #
When I first read your comment, Tim, for a split second I somehow thought you were talking about E.P. Taylor… haw!
— E-man · Aug 25, 11:11 PM · #