Horse breeding/Racing Stable | |
Industry | Thoroughbred Horse racing |
Predecessor | National Stud of Canada |
Founded | 1936 |
Founder | Edward Plunkett Taylor |
Defunct | 2009 |
Headquarters | Oshawa, Ontario, Canada |
Key people
|
1) Edward Plunkett Taylor, founder (1936–1980) 2) Charles P. B. Taylor, operator/owner (1980–1997) 3) Noreen Taylor & Judith Taylor Mappin owner/operators (1997–2009) Hall of Fame Trainers: Gordon J. "Pete" McCann Horatio Luro Macdonald Benson |
Divisions | Chesapeake City, Maryland, United States |
Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) thoroughbred horse breeding farm founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada.
The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property near the city of Toronto known as Parkwood Stable when it was owned by Colonel Sam McLaughlin of McLaughlin Automobile fame. The property was purchased by Taylor and became known as The National Stud of Canada until he sold it and bought a new property in Oshawa he called Windfields Farm in honor of his first great champion. As population growth overtook the operation, it eventually expanded to include a second farm, Windfields Farm (Maryland) in Chesapeake City, Maryland, United States.
Windfields Farm in Ontario was the birthplace of racing great and champion sire Northern Dancer, winner of the 1964 Kentucky Derby, in stakes record time, the Preakness Stakes, and the Queen's Plate. Northern Dancer was retired after the 1964 racing season and started a career at stud in Ontario, before being moved in 1969 to the Maryland Farm. Northern Dancer's son, the English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, was also bred by E. P. Taylor at Windfields in Ontario as was another Northern Dancer colt, the 1977 Epsom Derby winner The Minstrel.