Northern Dancer, born in 1961 at Windfield Farms in Oshawa, is celebrated as Canada’s greatest thoroughbred and one of the most influential sires in horse racing history. He captured national attention by winning the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Queen’s Plate in 1964, and later became a legendary sire whose offspring dominated the racing world. Nearly 70% of today’s thoroughbreds trace their lineage back to him, and his stud fees reached a historic $1 million. Northern Dancer passed away in 1990 at age 29 and was buried at Windfields Farm in Oshawa, a site now recognized as a heritage location.

Despite the farm’s closure in 2009 and the burial site’s period of neglect, Northern Dancer’s legacy endures through honors such as his induction into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, a commemorative postage stamp, and a life-sized bronze statue at Woodbine Racetrack. The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame regards his gravesite as one of the most iconic properties in Canadian horse racing, preserving the memory of a horse whose impact on the sport remains unparalleled.