Golden anniversary of Northern Dancer’s win at Kentucky Derby

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) is proud to join the Oshawa community and Canada’s thoroughbred horse racing industry in acknowledging the 50^th anniversary of Northern Dancer’s historic victory in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville on May 2, 1964.

Northern Dancer’s triumph set a new record time for the Kentucky Derby that was not surpassed for almost ten years. Northern Dancer followed the Kentucky Derby win with victories in the Preakness Stakes and the Queen’s Plate. Over two years of racing, Northern Dancer won 14 of 18 races.

The Canadian sports icon retired after the 1964 Queen’s Plate to stand at stud at Windfields in Oshawa until 1969, before moving to Windfields in Maryland where he remained until his death in 1990. Owned by famous Canadian thoroughbred horse breeder E.P. Taylor, Northern Dancer went on to be named the 20^th century’s best sire of sires, producing offspring that won more races and earned more money than those of any other sire. Northern Dancer’s stud fee at one point reached an unprecedented $1 million.

Northern Dancer was born and is also interred at Windfields Farm in north Oshawa, a portion of which was formally acquired by UOIT in 2013 for future campus development. As a key component of the university’s future development guided by the Campus Master Plan, UOIT is committed to proactively preserving Windfields’ historic legacy for future generations. The university is ensuring stewardship of the Windfields property in consultation and partnership with a number of community organizations including the City of Oshawa, Heritage Oshawa and the Windfields Community Group.