Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500

acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...

)

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989), was a Canadians, Canadian business tycoon, investor, and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred horse racing, r ...

Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

Origin

The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated with a property north of the city of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

on Bayview Avenue. Taylor then acquired the Parkwood Stable in Oshawa when it was offered for sale in 1950 by Colonel Sam McLaughlin (of

McLaughlin Motor Car Company McLaughlin Motor Car Company Limited was a Canadian manufacturer of automobiles headquartered in Oshawa, Ontario. Founded by Robert McLaughlin, it once was the largest carriage manufacturing factory in the British Empire. Around 1905, Robert's ...

fame), and he named his new purchase the National Stud Farm. In 1969, the name was changed to Windfields Farm Limited, Oshawa Division. As population growth overtook the operation, it eventually expanded to include a second farm, Windfields Farm (Maryland) in

Chesapeake City, Maryland Chesapeake City is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 736 at the 2020 census. The town was originally named by Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian colonist Augustine Herman the Village of Bohem ...

, United States.

Northern Dancer

Windfields Farm in Ontario was the birthplace of racing great and champion

sire Sire is an archaic respectful form of address to reigning kings in Europe. In French and other languages it is less archaic and relatively more current. In Belgium, the king is addressed as "Sire..." in both Dutch and French. The words "sire" an ...

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred that, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. After being retired from racing, he became one of the most successful Stallion, sires of the 2 ...

, winner of the 1964

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

(in stakes record time), the

Preakness Stakes The Preakness Stakes is an American thoroughbred horse race held annually on Armed Forces Day, the third Saturday in May at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland (except in 2026 when it will move to Laurel Park (race track), Laurel Park dur ...

, and the

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate from 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race and the oldest continuously run race in North America, having been founded in 1860. It is run at a distance of for a ma ...

. Northern Dancer was retired after the 1964 racing season and started a career at

stud Stud may refer to: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar in San Francisco * ...

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 The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

winner

The Minstrel The Minstrel (11 March 1974 – 3 September 1990) was a Canadian-bred, Irish-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. Bred in Ontario, he was sold as a yearling and exported to Europe, where he was campaigned in Ireland and the United Kingd ...

Decline and closure

In 1980, E. P. Taylor was incapacitated by a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

, and his son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

took over management of Windfields Farm. E.P. Taylor died in 1989 and Charles died in 1997, after which his widow Noreen and sister Judith Taylor Mappin took charge of the business. The Maryland site was sold in 1988. The downsizing that began following the death of E. P. Taylor resulted in large portions of Windfields Farm being sold to the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (now

Ontario Tech University The University of Ontario Institute of Technology, branded as Ontario Tech University or Ontario Tech, is a public university, public research university located in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is located on approximately ...

) and

Durham College Durham College is a public college in Ontario, Canada, with two main campuses in Oshawa and Whitby. Durham College offers over 145+ academic programs, including six bachelor degrees and eleven apprenticeship programs, to around 13,700 full-ti ...

, which erected sports fields and parking lots on the farm's southeast corner. Farmlands on the east side of Simcoe Street became housing developments. By 2008, the once-vast estate (that at its peak was home to more than 600 thoroughbreds) had devolved to just a small private farm. In November 2009, the Windfields Farm breeding operations were wound up. Its

broodmare A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four ...

s and

weanling A weanling or weaner is an animal that has been weaned, eats solid food independently, and no longer relies on its mother's milk for nutrients. ''Weanling'' usually refers to a horse, though can be used with any livestock. ''Weaner'' is more co ...

s were sent to be auctioned at the

Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society The Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society (CTHS) is an organization headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that was founded in 1906 to assist Thoroughbred horse breeders. Since 1982, there have been provincial divisions in Alberta, British Columb ...

Winter Mixed Sale.

Post closure

In the fall of 2012, the City of Oshawa became an ally to the cause for proper respect for the Windfields Farm property and its legacy. At the behest of the city, UOIT agreed to form a "Community Advisory Group". In 2016, the city of Oshawa followed up on some earlier plans with a "Proposed Program for Honouring the Windfields Farm Legacy" document detailing some studies funded by an earlier controversial donation of $150,000 by Minto Developments. The results, under the banner "Program for Honouring the Windfields Farm Legacy" were adopted. After the sale of Windfields Farm, the burial site of Northern Dancer and other Windfields thoroughbreds of the farm was not publicly accessible for many years, at one point becoming covered in weeds. On April 16, 2018, Northern Dancer's grave became an official heritage site under the ''

Ontario Heritage Act The ''Ontario Heritage Act'', (the ''Act'') first enacted on March 5, 1975, allows municipalities and the provincial government to designate individual properties and districts in the Canadian Province of Ontario, as being of cultural heritage ...

'', with funds presented by the City of Oshawa to landscape the surrounding area.

Former paddock lands development

In 2018, development of the majority of what used to be paddocks and open fields to the north of the core of the farm (some ) began on a new residential neighbourhood, with several streets now bordering onto the core of the farm itself. A large retail complex is also planned for the northeast portion of this section of property.

Burials at Windfields Farm

A non-exhaustive list of thoroughbred burials at Windfields Farm in Oshawa include: * Archers Bay (1995–2002) * Canadiana (1950–1971) *

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in The Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. On the eastern side of the island is the national capital, national capital city of Nassau, Bahamas, Nassau; it had a population of 246 ...

(1956–1981) *

(1961–1990) * South Ocean (1967–1989) *

Vice Regent Vice Regent (April 29, 1967 – June 18, 1995) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse and Canada's leading sire for thirteen years. Owned and bred by E. P. Taylor, he was from Northern Dancer's second crop and out of the mare Victoria ...

(1967–1995) * Victoria Park (1957–1985) * Windfields (1943–1969)

Windfields Estate

Windfields Estate was the home of

and was situated at 2489 Bayview Avenue in

North York, Ontario North York is a former township and city and is now one of the six administrative districts of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the northern area of Toronto, centred around Yonge Street, north of Ontario Highway 401. It is bounded by ...

, a suburb of Toronto. It now houses the

Canadian Film Centre The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) is a charitable organization founded in 1988 by filmmaker Norman Jewison in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally launched as a film school, today it provides training, development and advancement opportunities for ...

, founded by filmmaker

Norman Jewison Norman Frederick Jewison (July 21, 1926 – January 20, 2024) was a Canadian filmmaker. He was known for directing films which addressed topical Social issue, social and political issues, often making controversial or complicated subjects acces ...

. The estate has been preserved as a heritage site.

References

External links

Grave Matters: Windfields Farm
at the National Sporting Library's Thoroughbred Heritage website
Windfields Farm official website - Now defunct, no longer serves website
. Wayback Machine archive can be locate
here

Windfields Farm at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA)

Major Stakes Winners/Champions bred by Windfields & E.P. Taylor
{{coord, 43, 57, 13.9, N, 78, 53, 56.5, W, region:CA-ON_type:landmark, display=title Canadian racehorse owners and breeders Owners of King's Plate winners Owners of Kentucky Derby winners Breeders of Kentucky Derby winners Owners of Preakness Stakes winners Breeders of Preakness Stakes winners Breeders of Epsom Derby winners American racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in Canada Estate gardens in Canada Oshawa 1936 establishments in Ontario 2009 disestablishments in Ontario