Earliest meeting: 1793
Final meeting: Monday 3rd November 1856
The earliest record of racing taking place in the Yorkshire town of Harrogate was in 1793 on a course laid out by Colonel Clement Wolsley, although it is known that racing of a sort did take place prior to this date. Blind Jack Metcalfe, a notorious 18th Century gambler, reported that he had placed bets on races held at Harrogate in 1730 and throughout the 1740s. No race details were given, but the course, with a mile and a quarter circumference and breadth 16 yards, was described as a pleasant and profitable place to pass the time. The course was in Higher Harrogate, with the thirsty punters well served by the Queen Hotel and Granby Hotel. The first occasion when race results were generally recorded from the town was at the two day meeting on 23rd and 24th July 1849 on a racecourse located in the centre of the town on 200 acres of open parkland called The Stray. There was then a lapse of 3 years before racing returned in October 1852 with such success that the number of meetings doubled to include a June meeting. However, success was short-lived, and the final meeting took place on Tuesday 10th July 1855, closing with the Innkeepers’ Handicap Plate in which Menzir was successful.
Monday 23rd & Tuesday 24th July 1849
Harrogate Stakes over 1 ½ miles
1. Present owned by Mr H Stebbing and trained in nearby Hambleton
Harrogate Hunters’ Stakes
1. King Pippin owned by Colonel Reynard
Harrogate Sweepstakes over 1 ½ miles
1. Lady I Am Off owned by Mr J Gill
Monday 9th & Tuesday 10th July 1855
The Harrogate Handicap Stakes over 1 ½ miles
1. The Rajah owned by Mr Knowles
2. Phoenix owned by Mr Menzie
3. Cardsharper owned by Mr Bennett
The Harrogate Grandstand Stakes over 6 furlongs
1. St Mark owned by Mr Masterman
2. Unnamed filly by Faugh-a-Ballagh owned by Mr Morris
3. Notre Dame owned by Mr W Baron
The Consolation Handicap Stakes over a mile
1. Maid of the Tees owned by Mr E Gill
2. Lady of the Lodge owned by Mr Cooke
3. St Mark owned by Mr Masterman
I am grateful to Mark Elliott for providing a map showing the loaction of the racecourse in 1845.
Monday 3rd November 1856
Harrogate Handicap Hurdle twice round and 4 flights
1. Prodigal, brown horse owned by Mr Groves
2. Slender Billy, grey horse owned by Mr Clark
3. Harry, chestnut horse owned by Mr Jones
There was then a lapse of 3 years before racing returned in October 1852 (see link to newspaper reports below) and it was such a success that the number of meetings doubled to include a June meeting. Success was short-lived, and the final meeting took place on Tuesday 10th July 1855. No evidence of the old course on the Stray remains, although a picture of the ground is shown below.
I am grateful to Eloise Flint for the plan on tracing paper shown below. It was a Deed of Enfranchisement dated 4th October 1887 and formed part of the title deeds of a property on Wheatlands Road.
Course today
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
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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
