Northern Dancer's 1964 Kentucky Derby Victory
Mine That Bird Wins 45 Years After His Ancestor Won the Derby
Taylor, a fixture in Canadian racing, bought a mare named Natalma specifically to breed to his champion Canadian-bred stallion, Nearctic. Nearctic was by the great Italian sire, Nearco, and his dam was by Hyperion. Natalma was by champion Native Dancer and out of the great Almahmoud.
Natalma’s first foal, born May 27, 1961, was a feisty little bay colt with a crooked blaze and three socks. It soon became apparent that he wanted everything done his way. During training, the littlest yearling at Taylor’s Windfields Farm regularly dumped his exercise riders.
When Taylor held his annual yearling sale, he set a $25,000 reserve on the chunky colt. There were no takers. Taylor decided to race him, and Taylor’s wife named the colt Northern Dancer.
Norther Dancer, a Little Horse with a Big Heart
At two, Northern Dancer won stakes at Woodbine in Toronto and Aqueduct in New York, and was named Canadian Juvenile Champion Colt for 1963. Taylor began thinking he might have a Derby horse.
In 1964, the Dancer won the Flamingo Stakes, the Florida Derby and the Bluegrass Stakes. Still people didn’t believe he was the real deal. How could a horse barely bigger than a pony win the Kentucky Derby?
Taylor was undeterred. He knew his little horse had determination and courage. Anyone taking a closer look would see the bulging muscles, the incredibly deep chest and that indefinable something. Horsemen call it the Look of Eagles.
A Canadian Horse Wins the Derby
On Derby Day, with Bill Hartack up, the Dancer was on his toes. When the gate opened, he was ready.
After running easily with the pack, as the horses entered the home stretch, Northern Dancer poked his white nose in front.
“And there goes Northern Dancer!” shouted track announcer Chic Anderson as the little colt flew around he final turn and took the lead. Hill Rise closed to within a neck, but could not get by. The Canadian colt had won the Run For the Roses in track record time, beating Hill Rise, and other good ones like Quadrangle, The Scoundrel, Mr. Brick and Roman Brother, who would become Horse of the Year.
Northern Dancer Loses the Triple Crown
Northern Dancer won the Preakness easily, and people began thinking he might win the Triple Crown. But in the 1-1/2 mile Belmont, Hartack tried to rate him and wrenched the colt’s head right into his chest. The Dancer fought him all down the back stretch. By the time Hartack called on him, he had only enough left to finish a tired third. He came out of the race with a sore tendon.
In his next start, the Dancer was a runaway winner in the Queen’s Plate despite the injury, but afterward the tendon did not respond to treatment. He was retired after winning 14 of 18 races, never finishing worse than third and earning over $580,000, a huge amount at the time.
But Northern Dancer’s greatest exploits were still to come. In his first crop of just 21 foals, he sired 10 stakes winners, including champion Viceregal. Year after year, the stakes winners and champions kept coming. Many became champion sires and producers themselves, generation after generation.
The 2009 Kentucky Derby
When Mine That Bird, a little bay horse that nobody thought had a chance, came up the inside to win the Kentucky Derby, it was 45 years to the day after Northern Dancer’s greatest victory. Both his sire and dam are descendants of Northern Dancer.
The late E.P. Taylor would be proud.
For Further Reading
Cauz, Louis E. The Plate: A Royal Tradition. Deneau Publishers, Toronto, 1984.
Frayne, Trent. Northern Dancer and Friends. Longmans Canada Ltd., Don Mills, Ont. 1969.
Lennox, Muriel. E.P. Taylor: A Horseman and His Horses. Burns & MacEachern, Toronto, 1976.
Lennox, Muriel. Northern Dancer: The Legend and His Legacy. Hushion House Publishing Ltd: 1995
Hunter, Avalyn. The Kingmaker: How Northern Dancer Founded a Racing Dynasty. Eclipse Press, 2006.
Gamble-Arsenault, Debbie. Great Canadian Race Horses: The Incredible Feats of Northern Dancer and Other Speed Demons. Altitude Publishing, 2006
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame at Woodbine Racetrack, Toronto, Ontario, has a lot of information about Northern Dancer and his legacy. His Derby race is available on-line at numerous sites.
Northern Dancer at Windfields Farm (Maryland Div.)
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