AND OTHER SKETCHES 255 



TORONTO, THE GREAT HORSE MARKET OF 

 CANADA. 



One of the most interesting and noteworthy facts in 

 connection with the horse-breeding interests in this coun- 

 try, is the concentration of the trade in Toronto. Fifty 

 years ago Grand's Repository was established in the 

 Queen City, but it is only of late years that the business 

 of selling horses by auction assumed noteworthy propor- 

 tions. The recent purchase of the business by Messrs. 

 Burns & Sheppard, caused a rapid development which 

 has kept on steadily increasing, the most substantial 

 proof of its present proportions being the fact that a 

 little over ten thousand horses were sold there during 

 the past year. This army of equines included thorough- 

 breds, standard-breds, harness and saddle horses, Clydes- 

 dales, Hackneys and general purpose horses. The regu- 

 lar auction sales days are Tuesdays and Fridays, and 

 buyers are then present from all parts of the Dominion 

 between Halifax in the east and Dawson City in the west. 



Many important winners on the Canadian running 

 turf have been sold at The Repository, including two 

 King's Plate winners. In the light harness horse line 

 they have sold a host of fast trotters and pacers, ranging 

 in speed from Maud Keswick, 2.031/4, Lady May, 2.041/4, 

 Moth Miller, 2.07, and scores of others with records be- 

 low 2.20. 



Valuable importations of registered Clydesdales and 

 Shires are sold at The Repository every year, in fact, 

 Toronto is the admitted centre of the horse business of 

 the Dominion. The shrewdest buyers in the country con- 

 sign to this market, and the result is a constant supply 

 of the best class of stock it is possible to procure. Qual- 

 ity of a high order is often represented at the sales. As 

 much as $5,000 has been paid for a pair and $3,500 for a 



