Earliest meeting: Wednesday 16th April 1845
Final meeting: Friday 19th February 1869
The Middlesex racecourse at Harrow, Kenton, Wembley and Uxendon first held a steeplechase meeting on Wednesday 16th April 1845 when just billed as ‘Harrow’. The course was on Burns Hill and crossed farms owned by Elmore, Sharpe and Philpott. The main Sweepstake saw Tom Tug defeat Salt Fish. Three years later, in 1848, a further meeting was staged when billed as Harrow and Wembley, held 3 miles from Harrow. The meeting took place on Monday 31st January 1848, with the principal Steeplechase won by Mr Elmore’s The Crab. Further Harrow meetings occurred intermittently until 1860, sometimes linked with Kenton, or more usually Uxendon, on a course a mile out of Harrow on an all grass surface containing easy to jump fences. Racing returned for its longest period from 1864 and continued until the final meeting on Friday 19th February 1869. The Harrow Steeplechase was the highlight of its later years and on Thursday 19th October 1865 it was won by Mr Tom Cannon’s Polly Hopkins. The Cannon family were all experienced jockeys in their time and later became excellent trainers. On the final day the meeting was under a cloud with low attendances and poor quality racing, so it seems appropriate that the concluding race on that last day, the Priory Steeplechase, was won by Under the Cloud.

Prince D Soltykoff, Lord Adare

Harrow Steeplechase Plate, Harrow Handicap Plate, Harrow Two Year Old Stakes

Thursday 19th October 1865
Harrow Steeplechase Plate over 2 ½ miles
1. Polly Hopkins, aged horse owned by Mr T Cannon
2. Shuttlecock, aged horse owned by Mr Rupert
3. White Stockings, aged horse owned by Mr Riley

Thursday 15th & Friday 16th February 1866

Harrow Two Year Old Stakes over 4 furlongs
1. Lady Pam owned by Mr England
2. Transformed owned by Prince D Soltykoff
3. Pelerin owned by Mr W G Bennett

Harrow Handicap Plate over 6 furlongs
1. British Tar owned by Mr R Porter
2. Queen Bee owned by Mr England
3. Holkar owned by Mr Sherring

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