Earliest meeting: Wednesday 7th April 1841
Final meeting: Tuesday 21st March 1865
Racing first took place in the North Yorkshire village of Hurworth on Thursday 6th April 1843 on a 3 mile course on the outskirts of Dinsdale Spa. Entries were made at the Dinsdale Spa Hotel, where an Ordinary was served after racing. The meeting was organised by the Hurworth Hunt who were established in 1775 by Mr Turner, before being taken over in 1803 by the Wilkinson brothers who lived in Neasham Abbe. Lower Dinsdale Manor was acquired by another racing enthusiast, John Lambto, in 1770 and by 1829 John Lambton had become 1st Earl of Durham and built the Dinsdale Spa Hotel on his estate. Further meetings took place in 1842, on Thursday 6th April 1843 and on Tuesday 10th April 1844. Although the meeting then lapsed for a number of years, there was a revival meeting on Tuesday 21st March 1865.
Thursday 6th April 1843
Dinsdale Stakes over a mile
1. Bobadil owned by Mr Powlett
2. Wee Willie
3. Chivalry
4. No Surrender
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
.jpg)
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
