Sir Dixon was bred by Ezekiel F. Clay and Catesby Woodford at Runnymede Farm in Kentucky.
His sire was Billet, an English stakes winner, and his dam was Jaconet, a daughter of leading sire Leamington and a full sister to the 1879 Preakness Stakes winner Harold and Iroquois, who had a successful racing career in England.
[2] After his victory in the Flatbush Stakes, the Dwyer Brothers Stable, impressed with his performance, purchased him from Green B. Morris for $20,000.
Following the Withers Stakes, Sir Dixon's jockey William Fitzpatrick was replaced by Jim McLaughlin.
After his retirement from racing, Sir Dixon was sold back to his original breeders at Runnymede Farm for $10,000.