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KINGS PLATE FOR THE NORTHWEST. Lord Minto Advocates Royal Donation for Manitoba and Alberta. A moveninit is on foot to establish races such as the Kings Plate of the Ontario Jockey Club, yearh the feituie of the Toronto meeting, at several Batata in western Canada. There is hardly am town of size in the northwest territories that has not a race track and the people of the region are keenly interested in both the contest and breeding side of the turf. Lord Minto. former Governor General of Canada, took the idea up at a recent dinner in London. In the course of a B|t*ca Lord Minto alluded to the great race meetings of the Ontario Jockey Club and made special mention o! the good that had been achieved by having mi, h a race as His Majesty"s Guineas on the club*s pan gram. He thought it might perhaps be highly advantageous if similar plates were donated to .Manitoba and the northwest territories as an encouragement to the more general use of the thoroughbred sire in that region. Following the idea out a correspondent of tin-Canadian Sportsman, writing from Edmonton, one of the new and great northwest territories towns, writes as follows: "There is no doubt that one or more Kings Plate-in this western country would be of immense benefit to the breeding of thoroughbreds. We have the greatest country on earth for raising them, and only want more encouragement. Water, soil anil climate are all that could be desired, while our hilly country gives the best of feet, and develops muscle. Our high altitude is also most beueficia! to the lungs and our bunch grass excels the far filmed Kentucky blue grass. All this has been proved and with the limited oportunities we ha v. had. we have sent some good ones to the races--notably, May W.. a winner of forty-live races. All Smoke, a great winner up to seven or eight y-ars old. and the dam of winners, Plunieriu. a winner up to six years of age, a grand broodmare and dam of six winners, including the stake horse. Sir Wilfrid. Dora I. was also a good winner. These horses were all bred in Alberta and are a few of the good ones that I can remember, but there were many others from Alberta, our sister provinces and British Columb that have made good at the races. "As regards the Kings Plate when we get it, in my humble opinion the restrictions which make this race at the Woodbine, although a great social event, a farce as far as bringing out the best On tario-bred horses, for very few of the small breeders or owners can afford to keep a good two-year-old a maiden even for the honor of winning the Kings Guineas, and theicfore only the culls are eligible. The winners of this race since it was first started, with a few notable exceptions, could hardly win a cheap selling race and their time has been equalled if not beaten by our wes.tern horses on half-mile tracks. I honestly believe that some of our half-bred cow horses could run a mile and a quarter in 2:14 or better on a good mile track like the "Wood bine. I had one of these half-bred horses some years ago that ran a mile over the half-mile track at Medicine Hat in 1:50 with 122 pounds up — this was without training, as he was only taken otf the bunch grass a few days before the race. "The western Kings Plate should be in the form of a handicap for western-bred horses which have not raced outside of Canada, with penalties and al lowances. so as to bring all our best home-bred horses together."
