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Montana Horse Racing: A History - Hardcover | Diverse Reads

Montana Horse Racing: A History

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For centuries, on prairie grasslands, dusty streets and racing ovals, everyday Montanans participated in the sport of kings. More than a century after horses arrived in the region, Lewis and Clark's Nez Perce guides staged horse races at Traveler's Rest in 1806. In response to hazardous street races, the Montana legislature granted communities authority to ban "immoderate riding or driving." Helena led the way to respectable racing, with Madam Coady's fashion course hosting the first territorial fair in 1868. Soon, leading citizens like Marcus Daly built oval tracks and glitzy grandstands. By 1890, a horse named Bob Wade set a world record for a quarter mile in Butte, a mark that stood until 1958. Horsewoman and historian Brenda Wahler highlights the Big Sky's patrons of the turf and courageous equine champions, including Kentucky Derby winner Spokane.

ISBN-13: 9781540239624

Media Type: Hardcover

Publisher: History Press Library Editions

Publication Date: 07-08-2019

Pages: 274

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

A fourth-generation Montanan with a lifelong interest in horses and history, Brenda Wahler showed horses in the 1970s and 1980s, when the racing community was a major presence at fairgrounds across the country. Through college and beyond, she taught riding and judged horse shows. Today, she is an attorney and owns Wahler Equine, an education and consulting business. She and her husband live near Helena, Montana, with assorted horses and house pets. Visit her blog at https://wahlerequine.wordpress.com.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 9

Notes to the Reader 11

Introduction: Montana's Horse Racing History 13

1 In the Beginning 23

2 Fort Union to Fort Benton 32

3 Virginia City: Fast Horses and Vigilantes 38

4 Deer Lodge: From Racetrack to Ranching 44

5 Montana's Derby Horse: Spokane 53

6 Historic Helena: When the Queen City Reigned 66

7 Butte and Anaconda: The Highest Highs and the Lowest Lows 80

8 Daly's Domain: Hamilton and the Bitter Root Stock Farm 95

9 Galloping in the Gallatin: Bozeman and the Beaumont 111

10 The Phoenix: Determined Missoula 121

11 Billings: Running under the Rims 137

12 The "Bushy-Bush": Rural Montana Racing 147

13 Montana's "Lady Jocks" 161

14 Miles City: Wild Horses Dragged Them In 174

15 Great Falls: Racing in the Electric City 186

16 Native Future 203

Afterword: The Horse and Its Future 219

Glossary 221

Notes 229

Selected Bibliography 249

Index 263

About the Author 271