Earliest meeting: Monday 2nd October 1732
Final meeting: Tuesday 26th March 1867
The first evidence of Flat racing taking place in the Leicestershire market town of Lutterworth was in 1732 when John Cheny included the meeting on Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd October in his Historical List.. The town is situated some 15 miles south of Leicester and has a long, illustrious history, being granted a Market Charter by King John in 1214. Almost half a century late a meeting on Tuesday 9th October 1770, on Lutterworth Common, was sufficiently significant to be included in Baily’s Racing Register, when the £50 Stakes race over 4 miles was won by Mr Strode’s Catch’em. It was almost seventy years later that results from meetings held in the town were included in Racing Calendars. The meeting on Wednesday 18th April 1838 was fully sponsored, with entries for the R Otway Cave Stakes and Captain Hibbert Hunters Stakes being accepted at the Denbigh Arms and Crown Inn.  The final steeplechase meeting took place on Tuesday 26th March 1867 on a course half a mile from town on the Coventry road. The Farmers’ Hunt Steeplechase was won by Ingleman for Mr J E Bennett, who beat The Irishman and Chance, while the humble Maiden Chase went to Mr W Nurse’s Normanton. An attempt was made to revive the meeting in 1882, but the proposed card included pony and Galloway races.

Lord Ingestre, Captain Hibbert, Mr R Otway Cave

Lutterworth Open Selling Steeplechase, Farmers’ Hunt Chase

Tuesday 9th October 1770

Lutterworth 50 Pounds Stakes over 4 miles
1. Catch’em owned by Mr Strode

Monday 2nd October 1732
Lutterworth 25 Guineas Purse
1. TARRAN, chestnut horse owned by Mr Neal 1 1
2. PENSIONER, bay horse owned by Sir James Harrington 2 2
3. UNNAMED black horse owned by Mr Green 3 3
3 ran
Tuesday 3rd October 1732
Lutterworth 10 Guineas Galloway Give & Take
1. WANTON WILLY, bay gelding owned by Mr Mansel 1 1
2. UNNAMED Bay mare owned by Mr Rock 2 2
2 ran

Tuesday 26th March 1867
Lutterworth Open Selling Steeplechase over 2 miles
1. Vanity, bay mare owned by Mr Haswell
2. Romaza, bay mare owned by Mr Parker
3. Betsy, bay mare owned by Mr Roberts

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