Earliest meeting: Tuesday 24th September 1782
Final meeting: Tuesday 15th August 1893
The county Meath village of Longwood, also known as Moydervy, is located in the south west of the county about 10 miles south of Trim. The village first staged race meetings in 1782 when a full five day meeting stretched from Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th September 1782. The meeting opened with a 10 Guineas Weight for Age Handicap which was won by Mr Heney’s Enchantress, while Gipsy defeated Latitude in the feature race the next day. Further meetings followed in 1785 on the old course from Monday 19th to Thursday 22nd September 1785, with good Ordinaries served each day and a Ball on Monday and Wednesday evening. A real hunters meeting was staged from Tuesday 25th to Friday 28th September 1787 with races run in heats over 3 miles, although shortly after this meeting racing lapsed in the village. Racing returned in the latter part of the 19th century, although meetings had more of a point to point feel about them and certainly contained pony racing. The card on Tuesday 10th April 1877 was typical, offering three weight for age Handicaps over 3 miles and a pony race, all run on the Enfield course. Steeplechase meetings took priority in the 1880s and one of the last meetings of note was held on a course half a mile from Moyvalley on Tuesday 15th August 1893 when the feature race was the Longwood Hurdle. By Whit Monday 1896 the races were combined with Athletic Sports. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 4 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Mr Laurence Tighe, Mr Heney |
| Principal Races |
Collection of the Week Stakes, Longwood Hunters Stakes |
Tuesday 24th to Saturday 28th September 1782 |
Longwood Weight for Age Stakes
1. Enchantress owned by Mr Heney
2. Irish Lass owned by Mr Murphy
3. Unnamed gelding owned by Mr Perry
Longwood ‘Collection of the Week’ Purse
1. Latitude owned by Mr Sherlock
2. Irish Lass owned by Mr Murphy
Longwood Hunters Stakes for Gentlemen
1. Distiller owned by Mr Laurence Tighe
2. Unnamed gelding owned by Mr Flood
3. Unnamed grey mare owned by Mr Fitzsimons
(note that the course included a 4 foot fence, a wall and a 9 foot wide drain) |
| The final meeting took place on Tuesday 15th August 1893. |
| Course today |
Initially in fields on the edge of the village, after which races were run on the Enfield course and the Moyvalley course. |
| 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 |
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