Earliest meeting: April 1732
Final meeting: Thursday 1st September 1808
The small North Yorkshire town of Boroughbridge is in the Harrogate district of the county and was an ideal location for a racecourse in the 18th and early 19th century due to its proximity to the Great North Road. It lies on the River Ure just 16 miles north west of York, is perfectly positioned close to the A1, and was just a short distance from some of the very best studs where the top thoroughbreds of the day stood. The first recorded meeting in the town was in April 1732 on Common ground, with further meetings from 1734 through to 1740, although a better publicised 3-day meeting was staged from Tuesday 19th to Friday 22nd April 1757 when the Boroughbridge Plate, on the opening day, was won by Mr Smith's Careless. The main race on the Wednesday was the 3-year-old race over 2 miles which went to Mr Stanhope's Short House, while on the concluding day the 4-mile race was won by Mr Hunt's Poor Farmer. Although results from the early meetings were only recorded in newspapers, by the 1757 meeting results were included in Racing Calendars by Pond, Cheny and Weatherby's. The 1778 meeting gained notoriety for being one of the earliest meetings when a horse was 'got at'. John Fairfax-Blakeborough commented,' Miss Nightingale was considered one of the best mares of her year, was only beaten twice, and won the 1777 Richmond Cup which was sold at auction in 1929. She was entered for the £50 race at Boroughbridge in October 1778, but unfortunately died on the Sunday preceding the race. Suspicion having arisen of her being poisoned, she was opened, and in her stomach was found about 2 lbs of duck shot, made up with putty into balls. In due course William Turner was committed to York Assizes on suspicion, but was acquitted at Leeds Assizes in 1780 for want of evidence.' A quarter of a century later, on Wednesday 28th August 1805 an important race for the Boroughbridge Gold Cup was hotly contested and won by Lord Strathmore's Sir Peter colt, getting the better of Evander, Corkleg and Lord Darlington's selection. The final 3-day meeting recorded in the regular Racing Calendar took place from Tuesday 1st to Thursday 3rd September 1807 when, on the opening day, the Plate was won by Mowbray owned by the Duke of Leeds. Details of the races on the second and third days are shown below, together with a newspaper article recording the finding of the Boroughbridge Gold Cup almost 150 years after it was contested. Races were staged in 1808, although they were not shown in the main body of the Racing Calendar, but were recorded in the Addenda. On the opening day, Thursday 1st September 1808, the race for 3 and 4-year-olds over 2 miles, run in heats, was won by the Duke of Leeds's Mowbray, but races on Wednesday and Friday were not held through lack of horses. Local religious interests, together with lack of financial support, finally put paid to the races after the 1808 meeting.
Duke of Leeds, Duke of York, Reverend James Wilkinson, Sir Thomas Gascoigne, Sir W Vavasour, General Winmore, Sir William Dalston, Honorable J S Barry
Tuesday 19th,Wednesday 20th & Friday 22nd April 1757
Boroughbridge Plate over 4 miles
1. Careless owned by Mr Smith
Boroughbridge 3-year-old Plate over 2 miles
1. Short Hose owned by Mr Stanhope
Boroughbridge £50 Plate over 4 miles
1. Poor Farmer owned by Mr Hunt
12th to 14th October 1762
Boroughbridge 2 mile Purse
1. Bachelor owned by Sir William Dalston
2. Merry Tom owned by Mr Parker
3. Lady Legs owned by Mr Coates
Wednesday 2nd to Friday 4th October 1782
Boroughbridge 2 mile Plate
1. Laura owned by Mr Garforth
2. Fortitude owned by Mr Hutton
3. Contractor owned by Mr Addison
Fortitude was Evens favourite but was beaten by the 10/1 Laura.
Boroughbridge Maiden Plate over 4 miles
1. Hermit owned by Mr Hutchinson
2. Moses owned by Mr Barlow
3. Antagonist owned by Mr Stapleton
Boroughbridge Gold Cup winners over 3 miles
1804 Susan, bay filly owned by Mr Bowman
1806 Young Chariot, brown horse owned by Sir W Gerard
1807 Esther, brown filly owned by Mr William Fletcher
1. Mowbray owned by the Duke of Leeds
Boroughbridge £50 Plate over 2 miles
1. Unnamed chestnut colt by Star, owned by Mr Walker
I am grateful to Mark Elliott for the article below which is shown courtesy of the Knaresborough Post of Saturday 15th August 1953.
Thursday 3rd September 1807
Boroughbridge Gold Cup over 3 miles
1. ESTHER, brown filly owned by Mr William Fletcher
2. PRISCILLA, grey mare owned by Mr N Hodgson
3. ORAN, chestnut colt owned by Sir John Lawson
4. SILVIO, 3 year old owned by Mr Hutchinson
5. Unnamed chestnut filly by Hyacinthus, owned by Mr Garforth
6. Unnamed bay filly by St George, owned by Mr Cradock
Thursday 1st September 1808
Boroughbridge 3 and 4-year old plate over 2 miles
1. MOWBRAY, chestnut colt owned by Duke of Leeds 0 3 1 1
2. Unnamed grey colt by St Geoge owned by Sir E Smith 3 1 2 2
3. EXPECTATION filly owned by Mr Wilson 0 2 wdr
4. Unnamed bay filly owned by Sir T Gascoigne 4 4 dist
Much of the information about this course has been found using internet research and is in the public domain. However, useful research sources have been:-
London Illustrated News
Racing Illustrated 1895-1899
The Sporting & Dramatic Illustrated
Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough
The Sporting Magazine
A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8
Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727
