Regal Embrace (foaled 1975 in

Ontario 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 Ca ...

) was a Canadian

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 ...

racehorse 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 ...

. Bred by

E. P. Taylor Edward Plunket Taylor, CMG (January 29, 1901 – May 14, 1989) was a Canadian business tycoon, investor and philanthropist. He was a famous breeder of Thoroughbred race horses, and a major force behind the evolution of the Canadian horse-racing ...

and raced under the name of his

Windfields Farm Windfields Farm was a six square kilometre (1,500 acre) Thoroughbred horse breeding farm that was founded by businessman E. P. Taylor in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. Origin The first stable and breeding operation of E. P. Taylor originated w ...

, he was out of the mare Close Embrace, a daughter of Nentego who was a son of Never Say Die, winner of the 1954

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

and

St. Leger Stakes The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a d ...

. Regal Embrace was sired by

Vice Regent Vice Regent (April 29, 1967 – June 18, 1995) was a Canadian Hall of Fame Thoroughbred racehorse and Canada's leading sire for thirteen years. Owned and bred by E. P. Taylor, he was from Northern Dancer's second crop and out of the mare Victoria ...

, a

Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame The Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honour those who have made a significant contribution to the sport of harness and Thoroughbred horse racing in Canada. It is located at Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto, Ontario. The H ...

inductee and a son of

Northern Dancer Northern Dancer (May 27, 1961 – November 16, 1990) was a Thoroughbred who, in 1964, became the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby. He then became one of the most successful sires of the 20th century. He is considered a Canad ...

who is regarded as the 20th century’s best sire of sires. Regal Embrace did not race as a two-year-old. At age three in 1978, he was conditioned for racing by future Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame trainer Mac Benson who had joined Windfields Farm that year. Ridden by another Hall of Fame inductee,

Sandy Hawley Desmond Sandford "Sandy" Hawley, (born April 16, 1949 in Oshawa, Ontario) is a Canadian Hall of Fame jockey. Sandy Hawley decided to be a jockey when he was a 17-year-old boy, hotwalking, grooming and excise horses at a Woodbine racetrack in Toro ...

, Regal Embrace defeated the great

Overskate {{Infobox racehorse , horsename = Overskate , image = , caption = , sire = Nodouble , grandsire = Noholme , dam = Overstate , damsire = Speak John , sex = Stallion , foaled = 1975 , country = Canada , colour = Chestnut , breed ...

to win the 1978

Queen's Plate The King's Plate (known as the Queen's Plate between 1860 to 1901 and 1952 to 2022) is Canada's oldest Thoroughbred horse race, having been founded in 1860. It is also the oldest continuously run race in North America. It is run at a distance of ...

, Canada's most prestigious race and North America's oldest annually run stakes race. In winning, Regal Embrace equaled the stakes record set by

Victoria Park Victoria Park may refer to: Places Australia * Victoria Park Nature Reserve, a protected area in Northern Rivers region, New South Wales * Victoria Park, Adelaide, a park and racecourse * Victoria Park, Brisbane, a public park and former golf ...

in 1960. Standing at

stud Stud may refer to the following terms: Animals * Stud (animal), an animal retained for breeding ** Stud farm, a property where livestock are bred Arts and entertainment * Stud (band), a British progressive rock group * The Stud (bar), a gay bar ...

in 1979, Regal Embrace eventually stood at Blue Sky Farms in

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. As a sire, he met with modest success.

References

{{reflist 1975 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Ontario Racehorses trained in Canada King's Plate winners Thoroughbred family 9-h