Earliest meeting: May 1681
Final meeting: Friday 5th June 1846
The first recorded meeting in the Manchester area of Kersal Moor was in 1681, sited on a course near to the modern city of Salford. Further evidence of horse-racing on Kersal Moor (Carsall Moore) was contained in the following notice in the London Gazette of 2nd to 5th May 1687:- ‘On Carsall Moore near Manchester in Lancashire on the 18th instant, a £20 plate will be run for horses to carry ten stone and ride three heats, four miles each heat. And the next day another plate of £40 will be run for at the same Moore, riding the same heats and carrying the same weight. The horses’ marks are to be given in four days before to Mr. William Swarbrick at the King's Arms in Manchester’. Nearby Barlow Moor had first witnessed racing in 1647 and for a four year period, from 1697 until 1701, the Kersal meeting transferred to Barlow Moor before reverting back to Kersal Moor.  However, such was the strength of growing opposition against horse racing from local church leaders, especially John Byrom who owned Salford’s second oldest building called Kersal Cell, that racing ceased from 1745 for 15 years, but returned in 1760 when landed gentry ‘got their act together again’. Once racing did return to Kersal Moor the Lancashire Journal of June 1739 described in full detail the variety of races on a typical card:- The Ladies Purse of £30 on Wednesday 13th June, for any horse, mare or gelding not exceeding 6 years old, six year olds to carry 10 stone, but 5 year olds and under to carry 9st 3 lbs, including saddle and bridle. The entrance fee was set at one and a half Guineas. The Vintners’ and Innkeepers’ Purse of £20 on Thursday 14th June, for galloways not exceeding 14 hands high, carrying 9 stone, saddle and bridle included. All under 14 hands high were to be allowed weight for inches, and the entrance fee was set at one Guinea. The Purse of £50 on Friday 15th June, for any horse to carry 10 stone, saddle and bridle included, with an entrance fee set at two and a half Guineas. Although racing on the Moor was well attended, there were precious few creature comforts until the first grandstand was built in 1819. The building was so flimsy that in 1825 the rails broke and a large number of people were injured. Racing was generally of a good standard, but reached new heights in 1826 when two past St Leger winners contested separate races. The 1823 St Leger winner Barefoot, ridden by Tom Goodisson, won a race on Kersal Moor in 1826, while the 1825 St Leger winner Memnon, ridden by Bill Scott, was made the 1/10 favourite, but was surprisingly defeated by Signorina. Up until 1827 Kersal Moor was seen as the main Manchester racecourse, but the second Earl of Wilton decided to build his own racecourse on Heaton Park where he resided. The meeting was primarily for his family and friends, but the locals turned up in their droves at the inaugural meeting held on Tuesday 25th September 1827. Despite the new, exciting venue, racing continued on Kersal Moor until the four day meeting from Tuesday 2nd to Friday 5th June 1846, after which the owners of Kersal Moor, Miss Atherton and Colonel Clowes, announced in October 1846 that they would not be renewing the lease to allow racing to continue on the Moor.

This racecourse is covered in Volume 1 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below.

I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.

A racecard, shown below, still survives to this day of a five-day meeting which took place on Kersal Moor from Monday 11th September 1769 to Friday 15th September 1769. The card was produced, by order of the Stewards, by J Harrop, Manchester printers, with results shown below:-
Monday 11th September 1769
Hunters Sweepstakes, horses to carry 12 stone, over 4 miles

1. Ball’d Peg, 6 year old chestnut mare owned by Mr Harbord Harbord
2. Liberty, aged bay gelding owned by Mr Musgrave
3. Lancashire Lady, 6 year old bay mare owned by Mr Orme
4. Lightfoot, 5 year old grey gelding owned by Mr Radcliffe
5. Sennet, aged chestnut mare owned by Mr Douglas

100 Guineas Match over a mile

1. Regulus, aged bay gelding owned by Mr Orme
2. Ottery, aged 14 hands pony owned by Mr Brereton

Tuesday 12th September 1769
£50 4 year old Colts Race over 2 miles

1. Fisher, bay colt owned by the Honourable John Smith Barry
2. Hebe, bay filly owned by Lord Grosvenor
3. Kidnap, chestnut filly owned by Mr Swinburn
4. Kitty, chestnut filly owned by Mr Vernon

Wednesday 13th September 1769
£50 Give and Take over 4 miles

1. Young Davy, aged brown horse owned by Mr Jordan
2. Easy Jenny, aged bay mare owned by Mr Richardson
3. Young Short Horse, 5 year old chestnut horse owned by Mr Stanhope
4. Ottery, aged 14 hands pony owned by Mr Brereton

Thursday 14th September 1769
£50 5 year old race over 4 miles

1. Denmark, 5 year old bay horse owned by Mr Bell
2. Camilla, 6 year old bay mare owned by Mr Law
3. Ganymede, 5 year old roan horse owned by Mr Stanhope
4. Regulus, aged bay gelding owned by Mr Orme

Friday 15th September 1769
Manchester £50 Silver Cup over 4 miles

1. Lancashire Lady, 6 year old bay mare owned by Mr Orme
2. Lightfoot, 5 year old grey gelding owned by Mr Radcliffe
3. Liberty, aged bay gelding owned by Mr Musgrave
4. Ball’d Peg, 6 year old chestnut mare owned by Mr Harbord Harbord

£50 Match over a mile

1. Unnamed bay mare owned by Mr Entwistle
2. Unnamed dark mare owned by Mr Leach

Today part of the course can still be seen as a wide, well-worn path stretching from east to west along the northern side of the moor.

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