Earliest meeting: Friday 13th August 1734
Final meeting: Monday 17th November 1851
The Leicestershire university town of Loughborough is within the Charnwood Borough of the county and first held racing in 1734 at Nether Meadow. The town dates back to the 1086 Domesday Book and is also famous for being the place where Robert Bakewell launched his agricultural revolution. He was born at Dishley Grange Farm and introduced new breeding techniques to Dairy Farming, as well as improving his grazing land by flooding it and making greater use of fertilizer. Baily’s Racing Register first provided detailed results from races held at Loughborough on Friday 13th August 1734, when the principal race was won by Mr Williamson’s Smallhopes. The course, situated between Loughborough and Stanford on Soar, continued to host racing until 1756. However, it is known that an alternative venue was used between the River Soar and Derby Road, when the Quorn and Donnington Hunt meetings were staged in the vicinity of the town. Although racing lapsed for a while, a meeting was held on Friday 5th April 1816 when the majority of the card was for ponies or half-breds, but the Five Barrow Hunt Stakes was won by Mr Burgess’s Normanton from Polly Puck and Robin Hood. Yet another lapse in racing occurred until Mr Henry Dougherty, landlord of the Cross Keys Inn, tried a further revival on Monday 17th November 1851 on a course in the Big Meadow. However, amongst the list of galloways, half-breds and ponies was the Hunters Stakes for thoroughbreds which went to Mr Hardy’s Kenilworth, who defeated Tim Bobbin and Rifleman. Whilst races did continue to be held in the town, the frequency of thoroughbred races diminished. |
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 |
