Northern Dancer's legendary renown contrasts with a rocky start. It was bred by the famous horse breeder EP Taylor, which is unique. In 1962, notwithstanding its inception, things looked bad. At the time, EP Taylor horses cost at least $25,000. Northern Dancer appeared at auction. Nobody bid.
A wise man once said it was stupid to judge people by their stature, but this may have happened. Northern Dancer was a small thoroughbred at 14 hands (a hand taller at full-grown). The bay colt didn't sell like EP Taylor's other horses, so the breeder kept it. Ironically, racing experts in the 1960s considered Canada's finest racehorse unworthy of purchase.
Northern Dancer won his racing debut in 1963 for $2,100. Seven of his first nine races were wins. Not bad for an unwanted horse. In 1964, Northern Dancer reached a career milestone that made him a great horse.
Northern Dancer was voted Canadian Athlete of the Year in 1964 and inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in 1965. The finest racing horse in Canada was bred with hundreds of mares to father 21 foals in 1966. Viceregal was awarded Canadian Horse of the Year, and nearly half won stakes. He also sired Nijinsky, the first English Triple Crown winner in 35 years. Northern Dancer became a legendary horse racing sire. A syndicate's $40m bid was rejected at 20. A remarkable turnaround for the horse nobody would give C$25,000 for in the early 1960s.