Hill 'n' Dale Farms is a

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

race horse Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

breeding farm with operations in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

History

Hill 'n' Dale was founded in 1960 in

Ontario, Canada Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

Czechoslovakian , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

immigrant John Sikura, Jr. Following John's death in an automobile accident in 1994, Hill 'n' Dale's American and Canadian operations were taken over by sons John G. Sikura and R. Glenn Sikura, respectively. Notable broodmares that have resided at Hill 'n' Dale include Horse of the Year

Azeri Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people living mainly in Azerbaijan (Iran), northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republi ...

, 1999 Champion 3-Yr-Old Filly

Silverbulletday Silverbulletday (foaled January 22, 1996 in Kentucky) is an American Thoroughbred champion racehorse. Bred in Kentucky, she was sired by Silver Deputy and out of the GII winning mare Rokeby Rose. Her damsire was Tom Rolfe, the 1965 Preakness Sta ...

, 1991 Canadian Triple Crown champion

Dance Smartly Dance Smartly (1988–2007) was a Champion Thoroughbred racemare who went undefeated in 1991 while winning the Canadian Triple Crown and becoming the first horse bred in Canada to ever win a Breeders' Cup race. She was inducted into both the Can ...

, and

Better Than Honour {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Better Than Honour , image = , sire = Deputy Minister , grandsire = Vice Regent , dam = Blush With Pride , damsire = Blushing Groom , sex = Mare , foaled = 1996 , country = United States , colour ...

, the mother of

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over 1.5 miles (2,400 m). Colts and geldings carry a weight of ; fillies carry . The race, nicknamed Th ...

winners

Jazil Jazil (February 11, 2003 – October 11, 2014) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. In 2006, Jazil dead-heated for fourth place in the Kentucky Derby but then won the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the Triple Crown. Connections Ja ...

and

Rags to Riches Rags to riches refers to any situation in which a person rises from poverty to wealth, and in some cases from absolute obscurity to heights of fame, fortune and celebrity—sometimes instantly. This is a common archetype in literature and popula ...

. In 2007, Azeri gave birth to a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

by another Horse of the Year, A. P. Indy. The old Hill 'n' Dale farm in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, Fayette County. By population, it is the List of cities in Kentucky, second-largest city in Kentucky and List of United States cities by popul ...

is the burial place of

Triple Crown Triple Crown may refer to: Sports Horse racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States) ** Triple Crown Trophy ** Triple Crown Productions * Canadian Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing * Trip ...

winner

Seattle Slew Seattle Slew (February 15, 1974 – May 7, 2002) was a champion American Thoroughbred horse racing, racehorse who became the tenth winner of the Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing (United States), American Triple Crown (1977). He is one of only ...

. Hill 'n' Dale closed its Lexington operations in October 2020 and the entire roster of horses was moved to

Xalapa Farm Xalapa Farm is an American thoroughbred horse breeding stable near Paris, Kentucky. History Xalapa was founded by William Thomas Buckner of Virginia in 1827 and passed on to a son Henry who in 1897 sold it to Confederate Col. William Erskine Simms ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, which John G. Sikura purchased in 2019. The operation is now referred to as "Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa."

References

External links

Hill 'n' Dale Farms, Aurora, Ontario

Hill 'n' Dale at Xalapa, Paris, Kentucky
American racehorse owners and breeders Canadian racehorse owners and breeders Horse farms in Canada Horse farms in Kentucky Horse monuments Aurora, Ontario Companies based in Lexington, Kentucky 1960 establishments in Ontario Bourbon County, Kentucky {{horseracing-stub