Alberta a Good Horse Country, Daily Racing Form, 1907-11-08

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ALBERTA A GOOD HORSE COUNTRY. Lexington, Ky., November 7. A. Smith Bowman, formerly of this city, who bought the stallion. Rainbow, and a carload of thoroughbred mares at the sale here last December and took them to Alberta, Canada, is here to spend a month or sis weeks and says he may buy iuore mares at the coining Thanksgiving week sale. "Alberta is a great territory in which to raise thoroughbreds," said Mr. Bowman. "Tho climate is even bettpr than this. The altitude is high and the atmosphere is dry. The winters are never severe. For the first time in twenty years they had snow enough last winter to permit of sleigh riding. The grass is nutritious and succnlent and there is plenty of it. The water is good and abundant. I have six thousand acres about thirteen miles from Loath-bridge and I have not found it nccessay to feed grain to the mares I took there last winter. Neither has it been necessary to house them. but. of the mares that I took up I have twelve weanlings, which were registered with the Jockey Club. They are a clean-limbed, robust, racy-looking dozen of youngsters and I am sure of a profit in my venture. I mated all of the mares with Rainbow last spring and the majority of them I believe to be In foal. "We have a circuit of about a dozen half-mile tracks within a-radius of 100 miles and during the summer wo had a great deal of sport. The racing is now chiefly between quarter horses and ponies, but it is only a question of time when we will have practically all of the contests between thorough- breds. The people of the country are extremely foud of horse racing. The population is increasing rapidly. In the last year over 100,000 have come in from the United States and I want to tell you that there are few narrow-minded folks among them. That kind do not enjoy the hardships of building up a new country. It will be a quarter of a century or more before we will have to be bothered with that element and in the meantime we will go on with our breeding and racing."


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