Spokane was a

chestnut The chestnuts are the deciduous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Castanea'', in the beech family Fagaceae. They are native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce. The unrelat ...

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

foaled in 1886. Winner of the

1889 Kentucky Derby The 1889 Kentucky Derby was the 15th running of the Kentucky Derby. The race took place on May 9, 1889. The winning time of 2:34.50 set a new Derby record for a distance of . Full results * Winning Breeder: Noah Armstrong; (MT) Payout * Th ...

, he was owned and bred by Noah Armstrong. of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. Spokane was sired by the Leamington son Hyder Ali and out of the mare Interpose by Intruder. Spokane is the only horse

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal i ...

ed and trained in Montana to ever win the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby is a horse race held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, almost always on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The competition is a Grade I stakes race for three-year ...

. He did it in 1889, the same year Montana was admitted to the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Ridden by

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

native Tom Kiley and sent off at 16.4:1 odds, Spokane defeated the heavily favored colt, Proctor Knott and set a new Kentucky Derby record for 1½ miles at 2:34.50. Spokane also won two other important races, the American Derby and the Clark Handicap. He finished second in the Sheridan Stakes and the Peabody Hotel Handicap, and had a third-place finish in the Pelham Bay Handicap. The barn in which Spokane was born, the Doncaster Round Barn, located about two miles north of

Twin Bridges, Montana Twin Bridges is a town in Madison County, Montana, Madison County, Montana, United States. It lies at the confluence of the Ruby River, Ruby, Beaverhead River, Beaverhead and Big Hole River, Big Hole Rivers which form the Jefferson River. Twin Bri ...

, has been placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

.Briggeman, Kim.
1889 Derby Winner Directed National Attention to Iconic Round Barn in Twin Bridges
.

Missoulian The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed througho ...

, May 3, 2015 edition. Accessed May 3, 2015.

Pedigree

References

* Nardinger. "''Spirit Horse of the Rockies''" (1988) Falcon Press Pub. Co. (dist) 1886 racehorse births Racehorses bred in Montana Racehorses trained in the United States Kentucky Derby winners Thoroughbred family 9-a {{racehorse-stub