The following list shows the line of descent for major winners from the Northern Dancer sire line, tracking patrilineal descent from the stallion dubbed by the New York Times in 1990 "the dominant progenitor of his breed".[1] It focuses on winners of the principal three-year-old Classic races, as these have long been used to evaluate a stallion's success,[2][3] and the highest quality races for older horses based on International Federation of Horseracing Authorities rankings. A few other highly prestigious races from around the world have been included as well.
Northern Dancer's first major winner was Nijinsky, who swept the English Triple Crown in 1970. Nijinsky in turn established himself as a leading sire, as did several other of Northern Dancer's sons, especially Danzig, Storm Bird (through his son Storm Cat) and Sadler's Wells.[4] Modern descendants of Northern Dancer's sire line include American Triple Crown winner Justify (2018) and the majority of recent English Classic winners including the undefeated Frankel.
Although not covered by the following list, Northern Dancer's influence is magnified in modern pedigrees by the success of several of his male descendants as broodmare sires. Triple Crown winner American Pharoah and leading sire Tapit are just two examples of horses who descend from Northern Dancer in an indirect line.[5][6]