Earliest meeting: Thursday 22nd March 1838
Final meeting: Wednesday 18th March 1840
The Welsh town of Cardigan, the county town of Ceredigion on the River Teifi, developed around its Castle which was built in the late 11th century. The town held a series of race meetings in the middle of the 19th century which were first reported in the Sporting Magazine of 1838. That inaugural meeting took place on Thursday 22nd March 1838 when the principal event was the Cardigan Sweepstakes in which Lara defeated 4 other runners. Races continued for just 2 more years until the final meeting on Wednesday 18th March 1840. The start of the 3 mile steeplechase was in a grass field three miles from Cardigan on the Aberystwyth road, after which the runners covered three more fields before turning right at the turnpike road and continued a further mile and a half towards Cardigan. A field of eleven faced the starter and the race was won by Mr Summer’s Harry, defeating Hopping Tom, Bottom and Madcap.

Wednesday 18th March 1840
Cardigan Steeplechase over 3 miles
1. Harry, aged horse owned by Mr Summers
2. Hopping Tom, aged horse owned by Mr Peel
3. Bottom, aged horse owned by Mr Biddulph
4. Madcap, aged horse owned by Mr Davis
5. Gamecock, aged horse owned by Mr Lewis

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

ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3

652 pages

774 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0

352 pages

400 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7

180 pages

140 former courses

ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4

264 pages

235 former courses