Â
L-R: I.P. Russell,III; Earl A. Bostain of Chattanooga, TN; I.P. Russell, II; CENTER FRONT: Bill Bogart and wife Polly, Stevenson, AL; Evelyn Willis Russell, holding niece, Emily Ann Russell, daughter of Ernestine and Pickens Russell; peeking over her shoulder, is "Miss Kitty", wife of I.P. Russell, II and mother of Sanders, Helen, and Pickens, III. Others are local friends and children watching at the railing fence surrounding the half-mile training track at Russell Stables in Jackson County, near Stevenson, Alabama. Avondale Mills, a textile mill which was a major employer of the citizens of Stevenson, was a local sponsor of the 1951 Matinee Harness Races at Russell Stables. Mr. R.L. (LEE) Bowles, manager of the Stevenson Avondale Mills plant, and his wife Grace were family friends of the Russells and belonged to The First Methodist Church of Stevenson, as did the Russells.
Pictured L: Evelyn Willis Russell, wife of Sanders Russell and mother of their two sons, Henry and Walter, holding three-year-old niece, Emily Ann Russell. Mrs. Sanders and Mrs. Pickens Russell,III were in charge of much of the hospitality for this Annual Event attended by owners of horses in the stable soon to board the box cars at the Stevenson Railway Depot with their local grooms, for their racing season at race tracks such as Roosevelt Raceway, Long Island, NY, Yonkers Raceway, in NY, and The Red-Mile Track at Lexington, KY. Many other family members and friends from the surrounding area looked forward to this outing and Mr. Earl Bostain, owner of horses in the stable and of The City Meat Market and Deli in nearby Chattanooga, TN served a delicious picnic lunch for everyone!
RUSSELL STABLES
Having Great Year
At New York Raceway
Stevenson, Ala.
June 4, 1951

Letter to The Editor of "The Progressive Age":

"I am sending a clipping we read a few days ago from the New York Post which might be of interest to friends of my son, SANDERS RUSSELL. I am also pleased to report the splendid success our stable had at Roosevelt Raceway, Westbury, Long Island, N.Y., on Saturday night, June 2nd. Sanders had entries in three races for trotters and won first place with each of these as follows:
"Earls Mary Jane", three year old trotter, owned by E.A Bostain of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Purse $1250
"Johnny Brown", owned by I.P. Russell, II
Purse $3000
"Airman Scott", owned by Dr. Convers of LaFayette, Ind.
Purse $5000
All these trotters were trained and prepared at our track at Stevenson, and the first two are Jackson-County-bred, being sired by the horse, TRYAX, owned by our friend, Mr. Lawrence E. Brown, of your city.
This horse, on account of the splendid showing of his colts at the races, is now at stud at one of the greatest breeding establishments for standard-bred horses in Kentucky, The Walnut Hall Farms at Lexington.
I will also add that on Friday night, the great young pacer, Hal Tryax, with a record of two minutes, also a son of TRYAX, owned by Sanders Russell and E.A. Bostain, made his first start of the season, finishing second in a great field of pacers, for a memorable win!
The New York Raceway where these horses are racing is the top racing plant in America and attracts the best harness horses in the country. So, to be able to win first place with each of the horses started Saturday night, is almost an unprecedented happening! This means much to this Alabama stable located near Stevenson in Jackson County, Alabama.
I will also note that the young pacing horse, "Adams Cash", that had an accident of breaking a leg, was one of the best winners a few seasons ago at Roosevelt Raceway.

Yours very truly,
I.P. RUSSELL,II"

NOTE: "The Progressive Age" was the only weekly newspaper published in the Jackson County Seat at Scottsboro, Alabama in 1951!

A family friend, Don Daniels, whose website has extensive information available to the serious harness-horse enthusiast for in-depth research into this fascinating bit of Americana, has many wonderful articles from harness horse publications, newspaper acticles, pictures, and other memorabilia for your viewing pleasure. Many areas of interest to The Russell Family and Friends of
RUSSELL STABLES
may be found there.
Read vintage articles and pictures from the personal collection of the Russell Family
at
the link
below:


RUSSELL-TALK:Three Generations of Russells...talk "HARNESS HORSES"

Click HERE for MORE about Sanders Russell and his Family!Click HERE for 'HARNESS-TALK':Three Generations of Russell men talk about harness horses!
Created with The Print Shop Web Site Designer.