Earliest meeting: July 1692
Final meeting: Wednesday 10th October 1877
Early records show that racing took place in the vicinity of the Derbyshire town of Chesterfield in 1692 with meetings held at Ashover, about 6 miles from Chesterfield. In July 1728 Chesterfield held a 3 day meeting in July, albeit just one race each day, and by 1733 the entries for the meeting were so small that future meetings were put in jeopardy. Baily’s Racing Register first provided detailed results from races held at Chesterfield in 1729, with the meeting being taking place in July. The original course was on Whittington Moor, some 1 ½ miles to the North of Chesterfield, and by 1797 there was an urgent need to improve the course. It was extended to 2 miles in circumference with a 4 furlong uphill run in, but it was not until 1829 that the first small grandstand was built, modelled on the Doncaster Stand. The Duke of Devonshire donated £50 and another £147 was collected locally, although the builder was still out of pocket by more than £200. To solve the problem a subscription scheme was set up in 1842 to which anyone who gave £5 or more received a silver ticket, giving them free entry to the stand in perpetuity. Silver Tickets still survive today. Chesterfield Racecourse will go down in history as the course on which one of the most famous jockeys of all time, Fred Archer, rode his first winner at the tender age of 13. It was on 28th September 1870 that the young Archer contested a 2 year old Nursery aboard Atholl Daisy and won at 3/1. The final meeting took place on Wednesday 10th October 1877. In 1878 a meeting of interested parties from Chesterfield should have been held at the Star Hotel, on Tuesday evening, for the purpose of considering, and determining, whether the Chesterfield annual race meeting should continued in the future. Not one person was present at the time of the meeting, showing the lack of desire for racing to continue. The key people where the treasurer, Mr J. Turner, and the secretary, Mr J. Reynolds, but neither showed up. Informal meetings were held in the early part of the 20th century, with the final meeting under any code taking place on 29th July 1924.
George Stanhope (6th Earl of Chesterfield), Earl of Scarsdale, Lord Fitwilliam, Lord Strange, Sir G Sitwell, Sir M Newton
Chesterfield Cup (now run at Goodwood), Chatsworth Handicap, Chesterfield Handicap Stakes
Saturday 16th July 1729
Earl of Scarsdale’s Plate for 6 year olds
1. Quiet owned by Sir M Newton
The Brown horse defeated a field of 3 others, although no further details were provided.
1st to 3rd September 1762
Chesterfield 2 mile Weight for Age Handicap
1. Black Legs owned by Mr Wentworth
2. Hector owned by Mr Broom
3. Whim owned by Mr Brown
Chesterfield 2 mile Match
1. Cupid owned by Mr Warren
2. Whimsey owned by Mr Pigott
Cupid won the first heat, Whimsey the second, and it took a third heat before Cupid claimed victory.
Monday 27th September to Tuesday 28th September 1824
Chesterfield Maiden Plate over 2 miles
1. Comedy owned by Mr Brown
2. Portmoak owned by Sir G Sitwell
Chesterfield Handicap Stakes over a mile
1. Palatine owned by Mr Houldsworth
2. Leonella owned by Lord Fitzwilliam
With grateful thanks to John Somerville for the scan from his unique collection of pre-1900 badges.
Chesterfield Racecourse will go down in history as the course on which one of the most famous jockeys of all time, Fred Archer, rode his first winner at the tender age of 13. It was on 28th September 1870 that the young Archer contested a 2-Y-Old Nursery aboard Atholl Daisy and won at 3/1.
Once the Jockey Club introduced a minimum prize money rule informal Point to Point races continued in the town until a two day meeting on July 28th and 29th 1924, with local jockey George Smith winning the final 3 races held at the track. See clips of that final meeting using the link below.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urfwbgT4R3M
The Racecourse Tavern on Whittington Moor was encircled by Chesterfield Racecourse. The pub itself was on Stand Road and overlooked the racecourse. Although the Racecourse Tavern closed within the past few years, and Racecourse Road reminds locals of where the Racecourse once stood, there is very little else which remains of the old track.
The link below provides a 4 minute 45 seconds glimpse of what the races were like at Chesterfield in the early 1920s.
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
