My book, When Montana Outraced the East: Reign of the Western Thoroughbreds, 1886 to 1900, chronicles Montana’s influence and contribution to American horse racing by way of three frontiersmen turned millionaires. These shrewd speculators pursued a new enterprise in Montana — breeding and racing blooded horses. For a brief period, 1886 to 1900, their swift Thoroughbreds notched one famed race after another and setting new track records on the hallowed grounds of eastern racetracks.

In Gilded-Age Montana, three former frontiersmen, Noah Armstrong, Samuel Larabie, and Marcus Daly, turned from speculation in minerals to speculation in Thoroughbred horses. For a brief period, 1886 to 1900, their Thoroughbreds notched one famed race after another, even setting new track records, on the hallowed grounds of eastern racetracks. The reign of the Western Thoroughbreds confounded national sportswriters and threatened to reshape the balance of power within America’s oldest sport.
To preorder the book, visit the Oklahoma University Press website:
https://www.oupress.com/9780806195315/when-montana-outraced-the-east/
Whatever Happened to Spokane?
Foaled near Twin Bridges, Montana, and owned by silver-mining magnate Noah Armstrong, Spokane received his early training from cowboys before going east and winning several important races in 1889. After his racing and stud careers were over, Spokane’s fate became a great mystery in Montana and was fertile ground for speculation and folklore. For more than a century, Montana historians and sportswriters alike searched for an answer. Like them, I made repeated searches. Then, on the night of November 29, 2019, I found it. In two sentences. That eye-popping moment is my most glorious moment and greatest triumph as a researcher and author. Find out what happened to Spokane in Chapter 4 as well as who gifted him this extravagant and expensive hood and blanket.

Photo credit: Joel E. Ferris Research Archives at the Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture/Eastern Washington State Historical Society.