Earliest meeting: Tuesday 11th April 1671
Final meeting: 1772
The Northamptonshire village of Harlestone, in the Daventry district of the county, is situated a mile north west of Northampton. In 1632 the Corporation of Northampton, in a document dated 16th January 1632, undertook to present an annual Silver Cup to the value of £16 13s 4d from a sum of £200 put aside by Lord Spencer for a race. The race took place on Harlestone Heath for over 100 years, but stopped in 1739. A record remains of the 1671 meeting, run on 11th April 1671, when a four runner field contested the event which was won by Lord Cullen. Races were revived on the Heath in 1772 for just one year. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 1 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Lord Cullen, Lord Sherard, Sir W Hazlewood |
| Principal Races |
Harlestone Silver Cup |
Tuesday 11th April 1671
Harlestone Silver Cup
1. Unnamed aged horse owned by Lord Cullen
2. Unnamed aged horse owned by Lord Sherard
3. Unnamed aged horse owned by Sir W Hazlewood |
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| A particularly notable 3-day meeting was staged in the 1721-22 season, some 90 years after the Corporation agreed to sponsor a Silver Cup race. On the first day there was a 10 Guineas Purse; on the second day the main race was the Town (Corporation) Plate of £20, while on the final day there was a 10 Guineas Purse restricted to Galloways not exceeding 14 hands. |
| Meetings continued on an annual basis and in 1736 the Duke of Marlborough sponsored a 30 Guineas Stakes race, while on the second day the Town Plate was worth £20 to the winner. The final day of the meeting saw a valuable 50 Guineas Gentlemen's Purse for hunters. Within 3 years the meetings came to an abrupt end, only to be revised for a single year in 1772. |
| The final meeting took place in 1772. |
| Course today |
To the south of Harlestone Heath |
| If you have photos, postcards, racecards. badges, newspaper cuttings or book references about the old course, or can provide a photo of how the ground on which the old racecourse stood looks today, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com |
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 |
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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 |
| Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent. |
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