Earliest meeting: Saturday 1st December 1860
Final meeting: Saturday 18th March 1876
The earliest record of a race meeting organised by the Honourable Royal Artillery was on Saturday 1st December 1860 at the Hendon racecourse on Mill Hill. The steward at the meeting was Colonel Lord F Paulet and the feature race was for the Silver Tankard. Meetings were nomadic and the 1869 meeting took place on Tuesday 30th March at Cheriton near Folkestone when the main race was the Folkestone and Sandgate Cup. For the next 3 years the Honourable Artillery Company made use of Brighton Racecourse and all of its facilities. There was a parade before racing on Tuesday 19th April 1870 and the ‘County History of Sussex’ recorded that at the meeting on Wednesday 12th April 1871 the races were brought to a pleasing conclusion with a Grand Ball in Brighton Pavilion. By 1876 the meeting had moved on to Croydon racecourse on Saturday 18th March when the opening Regimental Challenge Cup was contested by 5 runners, but Mr Knox’s Newbridge finished alone, ably assisted by Mr Annerley. The principal race was the Royal Artillery Gold Cup which went to Major Rait’s Strike. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 2 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Colonel Lord F Paulet, Lord Colville, Viscount Havelage |
| Principal Races |
Royal Artillery Gold Cup, Regimental Challenge Cup |
Saturday 18th March 1876
Royal Artillery Gold Cup
1. Strike, aged horse owned by Major Rait
2. Durrington, aged horse owned by Mr Dalbiac
3. Outpost, aged horse owned by Mr Healy
4. Calvados, aged horse owned by Mr T J Rock
5. Lord Mayo, aged horse owned by Captain Turnbull |
The final meeting took place on Saturday 18th March 1876. |
| Course today |
At a number of racecourses including Hendon, Folkestone, Brighton and Croydon. |
| 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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