In Gilded-Age Montana, three former frontiersmen turned from speculation in minerals to speculation in Thoroughbred horses. When Montana Outraced the East: The Reign of Western Thoroughbreds, 1886 to 1900 by Catharine Melin-Moser retrieves the largely forgotten late nineteenth-century golden age of the Montana Thoroughbred industry, when Montana horses won some of the biggest prizes in American horse racing, confounding national sportswriters and threatening to reshape the balance of power within America’s oldest sport. 

Catharine Melin-Moser recreates the thrilling era when, through the shrewd foresight, hustle, and luck that had made them millionaires, Montana entrepreneurs made a lasting mark on American horse racing.

The Montana Historical Society hosts public programs on a wide variety of topics relating to the Treasure State’s history and culture. Most programs take place on Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. (excluding holidays and a summer break). NOTE: All presentations are at the Lewis and Clark Library, 120 S Last Chance Gulch, Helena and archived on the MTHS YouTube Channel unless otherwise noted.