Off and running : horse racing in Manitoba

Abstract

Horse racing in Canada was well established as a popular outdoor amusement even before the first organization of the sport by the Quebec Turf Club in 1789, and its popularity was no doubt encouraged wherever there was a military presence. As settlement moved west, so did the popularity of horse racing; but in the west it had its own indigenous and independent development. Horse racing has traditionally been termed 'the sport of kings', but it has equally been 'the sport of the people'. Nowhere has this been more evident than in Manitoba.