The postage stamps that will be issued in 2024 were announced on December 20, 2023.
I wrote a proposal with some help from my friends almost two years ago in an attempt to have Northern Dancer honoured in his Jubilee year, 60 years following his win in the Kentucky Derby and the Queen’s Plate, the only horse ever to accomplish this feat.
I followed the rules, answered all the questions and sent it to the correct people at Canada Post using their headings.
It did not make the cut.
But I want everyone to know that we did write a credible proposal and want to start off 2024 with what we said. The text of the proposal follows:
Proposal for a commemorative Canadian Stamp to honour Northern Dancer in 2024
written by John Stapleton
Introduction
Northern Dancer continues to be Canada’s most successful race horse of any breed.
The year 2024 marks 60 years since his main exploits on the race track (1964) when he won the Kentucky Derby in track record time and Canada’s Queen’s Plate. No other horse has won both the Derby and the Plate.
Northern Dancer’s only other appearance on a Canadian stamp was a 46-cent stamp in 1999 before his true stature as an elite international stallion was attained.
Some other milestones of his career include:
- At age two, Northern Dancer was named the Canadian Champion Two-Year-Old Colt after winning both the Summer Stakes and Coronation Futurity in Canada, plus the Remsen Stakes in New York.
- At three, he became a leading contender for the Kentucky Derby with wins in the Flamingo Stakes, Florida Derby, and Blue Grass Stakes. Northern Dancer followed up a record-setting victory in the Kentucky Derby by winning the Preakness Stakes. With a chance at the American Triple Crown, he finished third in the Belmont Stakes. Returning to Canada for a hero’s welcome, he then won the Queen’s Plate in what proved to be his last race.
- Northern Dancer retired to stud in 1965 at Windfields Farm in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. He was an immediate success when his first crop reached racing age in 1968, and the success of his second crop, led by English Triple Crown winner Nijinsky, brought his name to the international stage. Northern Dancer was relocated to the Maryland branch of Windfields Farm, where he became the most sought-after sire of his time. The move was necessitated by his world-wide popularity.
- Northern Dancer became the greatest stud horse in history. By the time of his death, 467 of his 635 registered foals had won races and over 150 had won stakes races. Many of today’s best thoroughbreds trace their lineage to him. Some of his more important offspring include Epsom Derby winners Nijinsky and The Minstrel.
- Northern Dancer was one of the 20th century’s most successful Thoroughbred sires.[1] From 645 named foals, he sired 411 winners (63.7%) and 147 stakes winners (22.8%).[4] The 147 stakes winners was then a record.[68] He was the 1971 leading sire in North America and also in 1977 when international earnings are included.[3] His progeny were highly sought in Europe, and he became the leading sire in Great Britain and Ireland in 1970, 1978, 1983, and 1984.[69]
- When Northern Dancer was 20 years old (an advanced age for a stallion), his owners turned down an offer of US$40 million from a European syndicate for him. Northern Dancer’s entry into stud service was ranked number 28 in “Horse Racing’s Top 100 Moments”, a 2006 review of American racing in the 20th century by The Blood-Horse magazine.[4]
- In 2000, each and every horse that raced in the most prestigious race in Europe (Le Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe) traced their ancestry to Northern Dancer.
- Northern Dancer’s continued influence is felt with the majority of Kentucky Derby entrants carrying his pedigree.
- Nijinsky (the last English Triple Crown winner 1970) and The Minstrel, both Canadian bred sons of Northern Dancer and both Epsom Derby winners assure Northern Dancer’s influence into the 21st century.
- Nijinsky sired 3 Epsom Derby winners and a Kentucky Derby winner, Ferdinand, in 1986.
- However, Northern Dancer’s other son: Sadler’s Wells (USA) out of the American mare Fairy Bridge is, by far, more influential in continuing the dominating influence of Northern Dancer world wide.
- While the continuing dominance of Northern Dancer’s remarkable influence could be ‘top-lined- through Nijinsky the thread of Sadler’s Wells, Galileo/Frankel is more significant and the underlying story is fascinating
- Sadler’s Wells (1981) became European Champion Miler in 1984 and was Leading sire in Great Britain /Ireland 14 times with a record total of 323 Stakes winners including Epsom Derby winner, Galileo, (1998).
- Galileo, was a European Champion 3-year-old colt in 2001 and eventually became a 12-time leading sire in Great Britain/Ireland with the most ever Grade1 /Group 1 winners including a record 5 Epsom Derby winners
- Twenty of Galileo’s sons have sired Grade 1-Group 1 winners.
- Galileo’s most noted son, the undefeated Champion, Frankel, (2008) replaced Galileo as leading sire in Great Britain/ Ireland in 2021 which featured his initial Epsom Derby winner, Adayar.
- These events assure the continuing world-wide dominance of Northern Dancer in the new millennium
- Although Northern Dancer passed while in the US, his body was returned to Canada and is buried in Oshawa.
Have broad appeal to the Canadian population, encouraging Canadians of all ages to buy and collect stamps
- Northern Dancer is perhaps Canada’s most well-known equine athlete
- He was a winner in the same sense as Canada’s racing schooner the Bluenose which has graced many a Canadian stamp and coin and continues to be popular.
- Canadian race winners who have achieved great things abroad and especially in the United States have broad appeal.
- Race horse philately is extremely popular in Canada and worldwide. It is a branch of specialist philately that especially attracts young people. Race horses have appeared on stamps for many decades and in most stamp-issuing countries.
- Equine themed stamps are also a popular area of philately both in terms of collecting and in adjudicated displays.
- Animals are a popular theme in philately.
- A very significant sub-population of Canadians has an interest in anything equine that spans people and animals in agriculture, gaming, racing, and showmanship.
Relate primarily to Canada and is it of national significance, such as evoke Canadian history, traditions, accomplishments or natural heritage
- Northern Dancer is a quintessential figure in Canada’s sporting history.
- The longest continuously run horse race is the iconic Queen’s Plate which Northern Dancer won in 1964, the same year he won The Kentucky Derby in record time (No horse until Secretariat ran it faster).
- Northern Dancer’s owner – Edward Plunkett (E.P.) Taylor was a famous Canadian industrialist and is a person of iconic stature in the annals of Canadian entrepreneurship.
- During World War II, Taylor was a volunteer executive in the Government of Canada’s war effort. He was appointed by C. D. Howe, the Minister of Munitions and Supply, to the executive committee of the Department of Munitions and Supply and would be appointed by Winston Churchill to run the British Supply Council in North America.
- Taylor has never appeared on a Canadian postage stamp
Illustrate the social, cultural, political or economic life of Canada. Commemorate people (generally after their death), their work, their birth or a life event to recognize outstanding contributions to Canada
- Literally hundreds of articles have been written in Canada and abroad on the life and exploits of Northern Dancer[3]
- Nine important books on Norther Dancer’s life have been published and continue to enjoy wide readership [4]
- There is a Northern Dancer pavilion in Toronto and a monument at Windfields farm in Oshawa
- There are schools (a public school in Oshawa) and streets (a Northern Dancer Boulevard in Rexdale) named after Northern Dancer
- Northern Dancer was the first non-human to be inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame and was in the first slate of inductees into the Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame in 1976.
Enhance the high regard for Canadian stamps in Canadian and international philatelic circles
- Canada ranks low in depicting horses on its stamps with only two series (46 cent and 54 cent) and only a scattering of others (Mountie stamps – the 1763 stamp and the $2.00 definitive.
- It would very much enhance the reputation of Canada in philatelic circles if he was honoured with his own stamp or series especially as the US, Ireland, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Poland all have produced many more race horse stamp series than Canada.
- Given that Northern Dancer is widely agreed to be the most important international stallion in thoroughbred racing history, his representation in just one series in 1999 represents less recognition than he deserves.