Wyoming History: That Famous 1908 Horse Race From Evanston To Denver

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A $1,250 prize purse lured more than two dozen men to race on horseback 534 miles from Evanston, Wyoming, to Denver. The famous 1908 race was big news across the country, with a controversial finish for a Cody man who won.

Dale Killingbeck
December 29, 2024

It was billed as the race of bronco versus thoroughbred, and it ended with a wiry 33-year-old rider and former laundry wagon horse making Wyoming proud.

Across 534 miles of challenging terrain between Evanston, Wyoming, and Denver, 27 horses vied for Denver Post sponsored prizes worth $1,250 — with the winner promised $500.

In May 1908, Henry Ford was getting ready to release his Model T and former Rough Rider Teddy Roosevelt was still president.

The West remained a place for tests of endurance, and horse and riders looked to cross the Cowboy State and make it down to the Mile High City in the shortest time possible. The catch was the riders had to maintain a healthy horse.

“It is up to the men who are entered in this race to show the men of the East that when it comes to knowing a horse, when it comes to understanding man’s best friend, the Westerner does not take off his sombrero to a man from any country,” stated the Post’s rules, which were republished in Evanston’s The Wyoming Press on May 9, 1908.

There were 16 entrants from Colorado, three from Utah, six from Wyoming and one each from Nebraska and New Mexico...

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