newspaper business. Bell purchased the Victoria Times Colonist in 1959 for $750,000, and one year later built a plant to print both the Times and The Colonist, which he gained control of in 1953 for $1 million. In 1954, Bell acquired a controlling interest in the Lethbridge Herald. He had a habit of appearing unannounced at the offices of his papers, often to chat with the editors, though never told them what to print. Bell continued to acquire newspapers, joining with Victor Sifton, owner of the Winnipeg Free Press to purchase the Ottawa Journal in 1959. The pair combined their interests to form FP (Federated Paper) Publications Ltd. that same year. Bell purchased the Vancouver Sun in 1963, and Toronto's The Globe and Mail in 1965, making FP Publications Canada's largest newspaper syndicate. By 1972, the papers had a combined circulation of over 820,000. Among acquisitions made outside the newspaper industry, Bell led a group that attempted to gain control of the Hudson's Bay Company in 1950. The bid was thought to have been motivated by the land and mineral rights that the company controlled, but was thwarted by company bylaws that prevented the transfer of such rights. It was later suggested Bell backed out of the deal in the belief the company would struggle to adapt to his ideas. By 1965, Bell was the largest single shareholder in Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR). In addition to serving as a director for the CPR, Bell was also director for the Bank of Nova Scotia, a member of the board of governors of McGill University and was a senior director of the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede. Thoroughbred horse racing A longtime thoroughbred horse racing enthusiast, Bell met future jockey Johnny Longden as a young man in Calgary, and later bought a horse from Longden, Mac Aurelius, whose victory in a Regina claiming race fueled Bell's interest in the sport. He invested in several ranches and was at least part-owner in three race tracks, including Balmoral Park, where he was the track's first Canadian president. Bell partnered with Frank McMahon to form Golden West Farms near Okotoks, Alberta, and the pair joined with Vance Longden and Wilder Ripley in 1952 to form Alberta Ranches, Ltd., which raced in California. The stables won numerous races throughout North America, as well as England and Ireland. Among Bell and McMahon's biggest successes was Four-and-Twenty, whose victories