Danzig (horse)
Encyclopedia
Danzig was an American Thoroughbred
racehorse
who is best known as a leading sire. He was purchased for $310,000 by Henryk de Kwiatkowski
at the 1978 Saratoga Yearling Sale
. The son of Hall of Famer
Northern Dancer
and the most important sire of the second half of the 20th century, he won all three of his races before knee problems ended his racing career.
at Claiborne Farm
near Paris, Kentucky
, where he became one of the world's most important sires. He led the U.S. sires list from 1991 to 1993 and topped the sire list in Spain and the United Arab Emirates
.
Danzig sired 188 graded stakes race
winners and 10 champions
. His foals have earned more than $100 million in purse money and include Breeders' Cup
winners Chief's Crown
, Lure
, Dance Smartly
, and War Chant. Danzig also sired 1992 Preakness Stakes
winner Pine Bluff
, and is the sire of Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
inductee Langfuhr
who, in turn, sired the Canadian Triple Crown
winner and Horse of the Year
, Wando
. A leading sire of sires, Danzig's son Danehill
is the first Thoroughbred in history to sire 300 stakes winners. Danzig was also the damsire of Fusaichi Pegasus
and Dancethruthedawn
. He was the grandsire of 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown
. His son Hard Spun
finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby
, behind Street Sense
.
Danzig and his son, Danehill, were dominant bay sires along with another 17 of Danzig's sons. This meant that they would not produce chestnut
progeny and only a grey if the foal's dam was grey.
Pensioned at the age of 27 in 2004, on January 3, 2006 Danzig was humanely euthanized
due to the infirmities of old age. He was buried at Claiborne Farm's equine cemetery.
Thoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
racehorse
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
who is best known as a leading sire. He was purchased for $310,000 by Henryk de Kwiatkowski
Henryk de Kwiatkowski
Henryk Richard de Kwiatkowski was a Polish-born member of the Royal Air Force who became an aeronautical engineer and made a fortune in business in North America and who owned Calumet Farm, one of the most prestigious Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farms in the United States.Born in...
at the 1978 Saratoga Yearling Sale
Fasig-Tipton
The Fasig-Tipton Company, Inc. is an auction house for Thoroughbred horses founded in 1898 by William B. Fasig and Edward A. Tipton. It is the oldest auction company of its kind in North America....
. The son of Hall of Famer
National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame
The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer
Northern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
and the most important sire of the second half of the 20th century, he won all three of his races before knee problems ended his racing career.
Stud record
Danzig was retired to stand at studHorse breeding
Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in domesticated horses...
at Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm
Claiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...
near Paris, Kentucky
Paris, Kentucky
As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...
, where he became one of the world's most important sires. He led the U.S. sires list from 1991 to 1993 and topped the sire list in Spain and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
.
Danzig sired 188 graded stakes race
Graded stakes race
A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...
winners and 10 champions
Eclipse Award
The Eclipse Award is an American thoroughbred horse racing award named after the 18th century British racehorse and sire, Eclipse. The Eclipse Awards, honoring the champions of the sport, are sponsored by the National Thoroughbred Racing Association , Daily Racing Form and the National Turf Writers...
. His foals have earned more than $100 million in purse money and include Breeders' Cup
Breeders' Cup
The Breeders' Cup World Championships is an annual series of Thoroughbred horse races, most but not all Grade I, operated by Breeders' Cup Limited, a company formed in 1982. From its inception in 1984 through 2006, it was a single-day event; starting in 2007, it expanded to two days. The location...
winners Chief's Crown
Chief's Crown
Chief's Crown was an American-bred Thoroughbred race horse who won the 1984 Breeders' Cup Juvenile and was voted the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Two-Year-Old Male Horse. He later became a successful sire.-Background:...
, Lure
Lure (horse)
Lure is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and owned by Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky, he is a son of the leading stallion Danzig, who in turn was sired by Hall of Famer and prominent sire Northern Dancer...
, Dance Smartly
Dance Smartly
Dance Smartly was a Champion Thoroughbred Canadian and U.S. Hall of Fame racemare who went undefeated in 1991 while winning the Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing and becoming the first horse bred in Canada to ever win a Breeders' Cup race.Bred in Ontario by Sam-Son Farm, the bay mare...
, and War Chant. Danzig also sired 1992 Preakness Stakes
Preakness Stakes
The Preakness Stakes is an American flat Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds held on the third Saturday in May each year at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland. It is a Grade I race run over a distance of 9.5 furlongs on dirt. Colts and geldings carry 126 pounds ; fillies 121 lb...
winner Pine Bluff
Pine Bluff (horse)
Pine Bluff was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Bred and raced by John Ed Anthony's Loblolly Stable, he was a son of Danzig and grandson of the 20th Century's most important sire, Northern Dancer...
, and is the sire of Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame
The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 at the Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario to honor those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and thoroughbred horse racing in Canada....
inductee Langfuhr
Langfuhr (horse)
Langfuhr is a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse.-Background:Owned and bred by noted German-born Canadian horseman Gus Schickedanz, he was named for Langfuhr the former German name for one of the boroughs of the Northern Polish city of Danzig...
who, in turn, sired the Canadian Triple Crown
Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Canadian Triple Crown is a series of three Thoroughbred horse races run annually in Canada which is open to three-year-old horses foaled in Canada...
winner and Horse of the Year
Sovereign Award for Horse of the Year
The Canadian Horse of the Year is a thoroughbred horse racing honor given annually since 1951 by the Jockey Club of Canada. It is the most prestigious honor in Canadian thoroughbred horse racing....
, Wando
Wando (horse)
Wando is a Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Canadian Triple Crown in 2003. The chestnut stallion, raced with moderate success as a four-year-old then was retired on the 12th of May 2005 to stand at stud at Lane's End Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.Of Wando's 23 starts, he won 11, placed in 2,...
. A leading sire of sires, Danzig's son Danehill
Danehill (horse)
Danehill was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was bred in the United States. During his phenomenal stud career Danehill became a champion sire on both sides of the Equator...
is the first Thoroughbred in history to sire 300 stakes winners. Danzig was also the damsire of Fusaichi Pegasus
Fusaichi Pegasus
Fusaichi Pegasus was purchased as a yearling for $4 million by Fusao Sekiguchi. His name is a combination of his owner's name, "Fusao," and the Japanese word for one, "ichi," to mean #1 or the best. The second half is the winged horse of Greek mythology. Fusaichi Pegasus won the Kentucky Derby...
and Dancethruthedawn
Dancethruthedawn
Dancethruthedawn is a Canadian Thoroughbred racehorse sired by leading United States stallion Mr. Prospector from Dance Smartly, a Canadian Triple Crown Champion mare and inductee of the Canadian and U.S...
. He was the grandsire of 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown
Big Brown
Big Brown is a retired champion American Thoroughbred racehorse and winner of the 2008 Kentucky Derby and 2008 Preakness Stakes. Bred by Dr. Gary B. Knapp's Monticule Farms in Lexington, Kentucky, he won his first five race starts. He was sired by Grade III winner Boundary, a son of North American...
. His son Hard Spun
Hard Spun
Hard Spun is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. He is from one of the last crops of three-time leading sire in North America Danzig. Hard Spun is owned by Wilmington, Delaware automobile dealer Richard C...
finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
, behind Street Sense
Street Sense (horse)
Street Sense is an American Thoroughbred racehorse, U.S. Champion 2-Yr-Old Colt and winner of the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2007 Travers Stakes and runner up in the 2007 Preakness Stakes by a head. Owned and bred by James B...
.
Danzig and his son, Danehill, were dominant bay sires along with another 17 of Danzig's sons. This meant that they would not produce chestnut
Chestnut (coat)
Chestnut is a hair coat color of horses consisting of a reddish-to-brown coat with a mane and tail the same or lighter in color than the coat. Genetically and visually, chestnut is characterized by the absolute absence of true black hairs...
progeny and only a grey if the foal's dam was grey.
Pensioned at the age of 27 in 2004, on January 3, 2006 Danzig was humanely euthanized
Animal euthanasia
Animal euthanasia is the act of putting to death painlessly or allowing to die, as by withholding extreme medical measures, an animal suffering from an incurable, especially a painful, disease or condition. Euthanasia methods are designed to cause minimal pain and distress...
due to the infirmities of old age. He was buried at Claiborne Farm's equine cemetery.
Tabulated pedigree
See also
- Claiborne FarmClaiborne FarmClaiborne Farm is a thoroughbred Horse breeding operation in near Paris, Kentucky. It was established in 1910, by Arthur B. Hancock, owner of Ellerslie Farm in Albemarle County, Virginia, and has been operated by members of his family ever since.-Owners:...
- List of leading Thoroughbred racehorses
- Northern DancerNorthern DancerNorthern Dancer was a Canadian-bred Thoroughbred racehorse and the most successful sire of the 20th Century. The National Thoroughbred Racing Association calls him "one of the most influential sires in Thoroughbred history"....
- Thoroughbred breeding theoriesThoroughbred breeding theoriesThoroughbred horse breeding theories run the gamut from the more common careful statistical analyses to the fanciful and the superstitious. The dream of the next legendary racehorse arising from the perfect pairing of sire and dam motivates the manager both for potential financial gain and for...