There are thousands of Thoroughbreds born each year, some have some famous ancestors.  We thought it would be fun to take a look at the famous ancestors of some of the FFI horses.  Enjoy!

Seattle Slew (1974 - 2002)
Seattle Slew is the winner of the 1977 Triple Crown.  For those of you unfamiliar with Thoroughbred racing, The Triple Crown is made up of three races:  The Kentucky Derby, The Belmont Stakes and The Preakness.  Since then, only one other horse, Affirmed, has won all three races and that was in 1978.

FFI's Horses with Seattle Slew in their pedigrees:

• Saribel Cruz - Adopted
• Sunny Thoughts
• Freeburn

Mr. Prospector (1970 - 1999)
"Mr. P" as he's known by Thoroughbred admirers was not a fantastic racehorse, but became a very influential sire. One of Mr. P's most remarkable feats was siring one winner of each of the Thoroughbred Triple Crown races, a feat his grandson, Unbridled, has also accomplished. His Triple Crown race winners were the 2000 Kentucky Derby winner Fusaichi Pegasus, a promising young sire; 1985 Preakness Stakes winner Tank's Prospect; and 1982 Belmont Stakes winner and Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year, Conquistador Cielo.

FFI's Horses with Mr. Prospector in their pedigrees:

• T W Cat
• Woodman's Star
• Kalista Tyann
• Double Dots
• Nightwing - Adopted
• She's Got Wings - Adopted

Storm Cat (1983 -   )
Storm Cat is was the leading Thoroughbred racehorse sire, who at his peak, demanded a stud fee of $500,000 and whose turnout paddock was secured by an armed guard.  He is a grandson of Northern Dancer and the famous Triple Crown winner Secretariat. At the September 2004 Keeneland yearling sales, a Storm Cat colt since named Mr. Sekiguchi sold for $8 million and in the 2005 sale another of his colts, Jalil, sold for $9.7 million. The price was the highest ever paid for a yearling sold at the Keeneland September sale and is third-highest overall.

FFI's Horses with Storm Cat in their pedigrees:

• Mr. Bartlett

Damascus (1964 - 1995)
Damascus finished third in the 1967 Kentucky Derby.  However, he won so many of the other big race (the Preakness Stakes, the Belmont Stakes, the Jockey Club Gold Cup, the Wood Memorial, the Travers Stakes, the Dwyer Stakes, and the Woodward Stakes) that he was named 1967's Horse of the Year. In his three-year-old season, he set an earnings record for a single season ($817,941) that held until Secretariat came along almost a decade later.

FFI's Horses with Damascus in their pedigrees:

• Diatonic

Nijinsky (1967 - 1992)
Nijinsky is remembered as one of the greatest horses in Thoroughbred racing. He was born in bred in Canada and exported to Ireland, then England where he became champion two year old of both Ireland and England and was winner of the English Triple Crown.  He was later imported to the US (renamed Nijinsky II) and retired to stud at Claiborne Farm near Paris, KY.  Nijinsky sired 155 Stakes/Group winners, and is the only sire to have a winner of the Kentucky and Epsom Derbies in the same year.  Nijinsky is also the sire of Kentucky Derby winner Ferdinand, for whom our organization is named.

FFI's Horses with Nijinsky in their pedigrees:

• Icee's Rocket
• Double Dots
• Jimmy Kool - Adopted
• Mynard Road - Adopted

Halo (1969 - 2000)
Although never a superstar racehorse, Halo held his own on turf tracks.  However, it was in the breeding shed where he achieved champion sire status.  Halo is the sire of 7 champions and 65 stakes winners, including sire of two Kentucky Derby champions (Sunny's Halo in 1983 & Sunday Silence in 1989). He is also sought after in the pedigrees of Thoroughbreds intended as Sport Horses.

FFI's Horses with Halo in their pedigrees:

• Sea Dar
• Shedroe Warrior - Adopted

Danzig (1977 - 2006)
Danzig is best known as a champion sire.  He won all three of his races before a knee injury forced his retirement. In his career as a sire, 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 was the grandsire of 2008 Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner Big Brown. His son, Hard Spun, finished 2nd in the 2007 Kentucky Derby behind Street Sense.

FFI's Horses with Danzig in their pedigrees:

• Woodman's Star

Northern Dancer (1961 - 1990)
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". His record of seven victories in nine starts earned him the Canadian Juvenile Championship. In his two years of racing, Northern Dancer won 14 of his 18 races (including the Kentucky Derby and The Belmont Stakes) and never finished worse than third. In The Blood-Horse ranking of the top 100 U.S. thoroughbred champions of the 20th Century, Northern Dancer was ranked #43.

FFI's Horses with Northern Dancer in their pedigrees:

• T W Cat
• Woodman's Star
• Double Dots
• Mr. Bartlett
• Icee's Rocket
• Triple Fax
• Mynard Road - Adopted
• Nightwing - Adopted
• Town Legend - Adopted

Information on each famous sire provided by Wikipedia.com.