The first evidence of racing in the vicinity of Hamilton Park was on Tuesday 6th August 1782, just outside the town at Chatelherault, when a purse of 50 guineas, contested over 4 mile heats, saw the Duke of Hamilton's Disguise defeat Stanton after just two heats. Full results of this inaugural 2 day meeting are shown below. Within 3 years a three day meeting was staged, although some races were restricted to horses trained north of the border, and it came as no surprise that the Duke of Hamilton was successful. Racing lapsed after the 1793 meeting when only three runners were present, although by 1811 the Royal Caledonian Hunt Club organized a magnificent seven day meeting. In 1887 Sir John Astley, who made his fortune from the whisky trade, began preparing a new course at Hamilton and the inaugural meeting took place on Thursday 12th July 1888 at a course close to Hamilton Palace to the north east of the town. Full results and newspaper extracts for the first meeting on the new course are shown below. Immediately after that first meeting had ended work began on constructing a steeplechase course, with the inaugural chase meeting held on Saturday 1st December 1888. Racing ceased yet again in 1907, predominantly because of disputes over betting, and it was left to the racing legend Sir Loftus Bates to mastermind the relaunch after the war. The first two day meeting on the present day course on Bothwell Road was held on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th July 1926 when Sir Loftus was rewarded with a massive crowd. Full details of the opening day on the present day course are shown below. The venue has witnessed a number of firsts; on Friday 18th July 1947 it hosted the first evening meeting, while on Saturday 8th May 1971 it staged the first morning meeting. However, it was in 1973 that the future of racing at Hamilton was made secure when the Hamilton Park Trust was formed. Currently the course hosts 18 fixtures annually.
Tuesday 6th August 1782
The Hamilton 50 Guineas all age Plate over 4 mile heats
1. Disguise, 5 year old owned by the Duke of Hamilton
2. Stanton, aged horse owned by Mr Sousby
3. Unnamed 4 year old bay colt owned by Lord Surrey
4. Blameless, 5 year old owned by Mr Thomson
Wednesday 7th August 1782
Hamilton 50 Guineas Ladies Purse over 4 mile heats
1. Wickham, 6 year old owned by the Duke of Hamilton
2. Unnamed 6 year old grey mare owned by Lord Surrey
There is every indication that a race meeting of some kind took place in Lanark as early as 1170, with a prize of a Silver Bell instituted by King William the Lion of Scotland. Records from 1661 imply that the Silver Bell was contested on the third Tuesday in May. The earliest record of a Silver Bell actually being contested was on Thursday 4th June 1719, although it is uncertain whether it actually took place in Lanark. The Racing Calendar first included results from the two day meeting on Thursday 15th and Friday 16th September 1785. That meeting opened with a 50 Guineas Purse which saw the Duke of Hamilton’s Milfield walk over, while the next day a similar Purse was won by the Duke’s Disguise beating Mr Thompson’s Sobersides. Meetings continued at irregular intervals throughout the 19th century, although the management was not as tight and effective as at other Scottish courses. In 1870 the racing authorities introduced a rule stating no races were to be run for a prize of less than £50, but in 1873 Lanark breached this rule. The first recorded meeting on the New course, described as an oval course of some 1 mile 140 yards with a gradual rise to the finish, about a mile and a half from Lanark, was in 1909. However, the course proved to be extremely treacherous when it rained. In common with almost all courses racing ceased between 1914 and 1919, and again in 1939 before returning for a popular meeting on Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th September 1945. In 1967, feeling confident about the future, a new stable block was built, but in the end this proved to be part of its undoing. Crowds decreased and the financial burden of paying for the stable block became too much. The final meeting took place on Tuesday 18th October 1977, after which the Levy Board declined to support the course with any further money.
Wednesday 27th September 1899
Lanark Silver Bell Handicap over 1 ½ miles
1. Tyna owned by Mr W Sanderson
2. Horizon owned by Mr Alan Johnstone
3. Dowf owned by the Duke of Montrose
After a considerable lapse a two day meeting was held on a new course on Thursday 12th and Friday 13th July 1888. Details of that early meeting are shown below courtesy of the Sporting Life (Saturday 14th July 1888) and the British Library Online.
The Hamilton Park Executive staged their first meeting under the Grand National Hunt rules on Saturday 1st December 1888. After the October Flat meeting finished work began in earnest to lay out the steeplechase track, with the course passing the inspection of Mr Bevill, the official inspector of steeplechase courses to the GNH, a few days before the inaugural steeplechase meeting. The Water Jump was situated in front of the Stand, albeit in an awkward hollow, while the hurdle track made full use of the flat race track.
Saturday 1st December 1888
Inauguration Open Hunters Steeplechase Plate over 3 miles
- Lady Constance (4/6 fav) owned by Mr J Wallace and ridden by J May
- Catspaw owned and ridden by Mr D H Gibb
- Old Malt owned and ridden by Mr T G Anthony
Bothwellhaugh Hunters Hurdle Race over 2 miles and 8 flights
- Little Nancy (10/1) owned and ridden by Mr J Ferguson
- Twinkle (2/5 fav) owned and ridden by Mr C J Cunningham
- Jenny (6/1) owned by Mr G Jardine and ridden by W Sayers
Hamilton Park Club Hunters Steeplechase over 3 miles
- Why Not (1/5 fav) owned by Mr G Jardine and ridden by C J Cunningham
- Huguenot (7/1) owned and ridden by Mr A Coats
- Aristocrate (10/1) owned and ridden by Mr Robertson-Alkman
Steeplechase races continued to be a part of the Hamilton Park annual programme until 1907 when the racecourse closed for 19 years. When racing returned in 1926 the executive preferred to rely on Flat racing only. This meant that the final running of the Hamilton Park Steeplechase took place on Monday 30th September 1907.
Monday 30th September 1907
Hamilton Park Steeplechase Plate over 2 miles
- Bodger (4/1) owned and ridden by Mr G Ganter
- Antrim (5/1) owned by Mr G I Wilson and ridden by J Hamilton
- Ashton (7/4 fav) owned by Mr C W C Henderson and ridden by M Phelan
Cambusnethan Handicap Plate over 1 mile 50 yards
1. Impress (9/2) owned by Sir L Green and ridden by J Thwaites
2. Huntersdale (5/2) owned by Mrs S Joel and ridden by H Wragg
3. Fair Dinkum (8/1) owned by Mr A Smith and ridden by A Glasgow
Bothwell Two-Year-Old Selling Plate over 5 furlongs
1. Fritters (9/4) owned by Mr H Johnstone and ridden by J Thwaites
2. Siroon (7/4) owned by Mr G M Menzies and ridden by C Ray
3. Royal Bride (4/1) owned by Captain A Wilson and ridden by Fred Winter
Wishaw Selling Handicap Plate over 1 mile 5 furlongs
1. Weathertide (10/1) owned by Mr Andrews and ridden by H Wagstaffe
2. Fulfil (2/1) owned by Mr H Morris and ridden by C Ray
3. Polemberg (6/4) owned by Lord Lonsdale and ridden by T Burns
Glasgow Plate over 5 furlongs
1. Bell Rock (6/1) owned by Sir R W Jardine and ridden by Harry Wragg
2. Trustful (5/2) owned by Sir E Tate and ridden by C Parker
3. Friary Court (2/1) owned by Lord Allendale and ridden by E Winter
Motherwell Handicap Plate over 6 furlongs
1. Little Red Rat (100/8) owned by Mr Crawford and ridden by J Taylor
2. Martenax (9/4) owned by Sir E Tate and ridden by T Burns
3. Sky Pilot (7/1) owned by Sir R Jardine and ridden by R James
Larkhall Plate over 1 ½ miles
1. Aryan (evens) owned by Mrs A Bendir and ridden by J Doyle
2. Leeds Rock (7/4) owned by Mr G M Menzies and ridden by C Ray
3. Fabulist (6/1) owned by Mr Macdonald and ridden by R James
The rare 1902 handbill shown below is provided courtesy of the Robert Shaw collection.
2006 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Tam Lin (8/11 fav), owned by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, trained by Sir Michael Stoute and ridden by Robert Winston 4 ran
2007 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Boscobel (6/4 fav), owned by Godolphin, trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Joe Fanning 4 ran
2008 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Captain Webb (11/8 fav), owned by Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum, trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Greg Fairley 8 ran
2010 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Corsica (11/2), owned by King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Joe Fanning 4 ran
2011 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Hunter’s Light (2/1), owned by Godolphin, trained by Saeed bin Suroor and ridden by Phillip Makin 6 ran
2012 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Sparkling Portrait (11/8 fav), owned by Mike Browne, trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Paul Hanagan 6 ran
2014 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Postponed(4/5 fav), owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, trained by Luca Cumani and ridden by Andrea Atzeni 6 ran
2015 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Medrano (9/4 fav), owned by P Onslow, trained by David Brown and ridden by Fergal Lynch 10 ran
2016 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Ventura Storm (9/4 fav), owned by Middleham Park Racing, trained by Richard Hannon Jnr and ridden by Sean Levey 7 ran
2017 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Defoe (5/4 fav) owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum, trained by Roger Varian and ridden by Harry Bentley 6 ran
2018 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Raymond Tusk (7/4 fav) owned by Middleham Park Racing and K Sohi, trained by Richard Hannon jnr and ridden by Phillip Makin 5 ran
2019 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Sameem (7/2) owned by Sultan Ali, trained by James Tate and ridden by David Allan 6 ran
2020 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Subjectivist (7/4 fav) owned by Dr J Walker, trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Joe Fanning
2021 The Glasgow Stakes was won by Aleas (7/2) owned by Miss K Rausing, trained by Ralph Beckett and ridden by Danny Tudhope
