The 13 Most Influential Thoroughbred Sires in Racing History

Modern pedigrees narrow to a handful of stallions, and several of them never won anything worth remembering. Influence and greatness turn out to be different lists.

1

Northern Dancer

Left a line of stallion sons — Sadler's Wells, Nijinsky, Danzig, Nureyev — that reshaped breeding worldwide.

2

Mr. Prospector

Widely called the most influential North American sire of the last fifty years.

3

Bold Ruler

Eight-time leading sire in North America, and the father of Secretariat.

4

Nearco

The unbeaten Italian champion whose male line runs through most modern pedigrees.

5

Native Dancer

His line reaches forward through Mr. Prospector and Raise a Native to much of today's dirt racing.

6

Sadler's Wells

Champion sire in Britain and Ireland fourteen times, most of them consecutively.

7

Storm Cat

Another Secretariat maternal grandson, whose stud fee reached $500,000 at his peak.

8

Galileo

Sired more than 90 Group 1 winners including Frankel, and led the British sire list twelve times.

9

Secretariat

Sired 57 stakes winners but no top-class stallion son; his influence arrived through his daughters.

10

Seattle Slew

The undefeated Triple Crown winner sired A.P. Indy and became a cornerstone of the Bold Ruler line.

11

Raise a Native

Ran four times, won four, and produced Mr. Prospector, Alydar and Majestic Prince.

12

Sunday Silence

Led the Japanese sire list thirteen years in a row and rebuilt an entire national breeding industry.

13

Tapit

The grey who topped the American sire list three times and stood at the highest fee in Kentucky.