Sire: Dixieland Band
Grandsire: Northern Dancer
Dam: She's Tops
Damsire: Capote
Sex: Stallion
Foaled: 1997
Country: United States
Colour: Dark Bay/Brown
Breeder: Herman Sarkowsky
Owner: Herman Sarkowsky & Diamond A Racing Corp
Trainer: Richard E. Mandella
Jockey: Jerry Bailey
Record: 12: 7-3-0
Earnings: $1,233,190
Major races: Norfolk Stakes (1999), Best Pal Stakes (1999), Hollywood Juvenile Championship Stakes (1999), Haskell Invitational Handicap (2000), Malibu Stakes (2000)
Post Career: became a successful sire, producing numerous stakes winners and champion racehorses. Some of his notable offspring include Union Rags, Dixie Chatter, and Dixie Brass.
Dixie Union stood at stud at various farms in Kentucky and Florida, including Ashford Stud, Spendthrift Farm, and Vinery.
Dixie Union passed away in 2010 due to a deteriorating neurological condition. He was buried at Ashford Stud in Versailles, Kentucky.
MARCH 7 - Dixie Union
Dixieland Band was one of the last great sons of Northern Dancer and for a while Dixie Union was his best son before his passing. However, he did give us the Belmont Stakes winner Union Rags who was also the KY Derby favorite that year. This is Dixie Union winning the Haskell at Monmouth Park.
He was raced by Gerald Ford's Diamond A Farm. The connections and story would be too long to tell - yes - I said that - long winded Bob said the story would be too long.
I painted another horse for the Ford family and when I talk about that one maybe I'll be able to squeeze out the "rest of the story".
Dixie Union was a top class colt and a successful sire who left his mark on American racing in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He was foaled in 1997 and trained by Hall of Fame conditioner Richard Mandella. He was owned by Eugene and Laura Cashman. His sire was Dixieland Band, a great son of Northern Dancer, and his dam was She's Tops, a daughter of Capote. He carried a pedigree built for both speed and class, and he showed both on the track.
As a two year old in 1999, Dixie Union put together a fine campaign on the West Coast. He capped that season with a win in the Hollywood Futurity, beating top juveniles and stamping himself as one of the best colts of his crop. The win earned him a spot among the leading three year old prospects heading into the 2000 Triple Crown season.
His three year old year was full of highs. He missed the Triple Crown races but came on strong in the summer. He shipped east and won the 2000 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park, beating older horses and proving he could handle the best of his generation. He came back at the end of the year to win the 2000 Malibu Stakes at Santa Anita, a Grade 1 sprint that capped his championship season. He retired with 7 wins from 11 starts and earnings of over 1.2 million dollars.
Dixie Union went to stud at Lane's End Farm in Kentucky, where he became a top sire before his life was cut short. He died in 2010 at just 13 years old. Even with his short stallion career, he produced major horses like Union Rags, who won the 2012 Belmont Stakes, and Capt. Candyman Can, a Grade 1 sprint winner. His daughters have also been outstanding broodmares, and his legacy lives on through his sons and their descendants. Dixie Union is remembered as a horse with brilliant speed, real class, and lasting influence on the breed.
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