Earliest meeting: Monday 20th July 1801
Final meeting: Friday 6th August 1841
The Scottish town of Monifieth is on the North bank of the River Tay in Angus, six miles east of Dundee. It first held races on Monday 20th July 1801, and they were held regularly thereafter, although the first time they were recorded in Baily's Racing Register was the meeting on Thursday 4th August 1814 on the Budden course on the edge of the town. A meeting was then held on the same course on Thursday 1st August 1816 when the Silver Cup, donated by William Maule later to become Lord Panmure, was won by Mr Deighton's Bitterly Ann. William Maule, born on 27th October 1771, was the younger son of George Ramsay, 8th Earl of Dalhousie and his wife Elizabeth Glen. In 1782 William succeeded to the extensive Maule estates on the death of his great-uncle William Maule, 1st Earl of Panmure and assumed his name and title. He owned vast acreages of Scottish land, lived in Brechin Castle, and became MP for Forfarshire in 1796, but he was also philanthropic, sponsoring the Silver Trophy at Monifieth races from 1801. He died on 13th April 1852 and is buried in the churchyard of Brechin Cathedral. He was still sponsoring the principal race at Monifieth in 1820, as indicated by the magnificent trophy shown below.
Monday 20th July 1801
Monifieth Silver Cup donated by Hon. William Maule
1. DOUBTFUL, bay horse owned by Mr Simmons 1 1
2. MAGGIE, bay mare owned by Mr Carnegie 2 dr
3. RANGER, bay mare owned by Mr Anderson 3 dr
4. BUFF, brown gelding owned by Mr Burk dist
5. PEG, grey mare owned by Mr Crichton dist
Monifieth Subscription race for saddle & bridle
1. RANGER, bay mare owned by Mr Anderson 1 1
2. PEG, grey mare owned by Mr Crichton 2 2
3. BUFF, brown gelding owned by Mr Burk bolted
4. MAGGIE, bay mare owned by Mr Carnegie dist
Races continued to be held in Monifieth over the Budden course on an annual basis, with the principal race sponsored by Hon. William Maule, Lord Panmure, via a Silver trophy valued at 10 guineas. In August 1810 and again in August 1811 the principal race was won by a member of the Dick family, George in 1810, and James in 1811. The trophies from those years have survived and are now back in the rightful hands of David Payne and his brother Tony, whose ancestors were George and James Dick. It is further known that the Dick family were still living near Dundee right up to the 1970s.
I am grateful to David Payne for the photo of the historic trophies shown below; whose inscriptions read:-
'Given by The Hon William Maule of Panmure.
Won at Monyfieth by Allsteel – The property of George Dick; 9th August 1810'and
'Given by The Hon William Maule of Panmure.
Won at Monyfieth by Allsteel – The property of James Dick; 8th August 1811'
Thursday 9th August 1810
Monifieth Silver Cup donated by Hon William Maule
1. ALLSTEEL, chestnut mare owned by Mr George Dick and ridden by Patullo 1 1
2. BALAGAVIES, chestnut horse owned and ridden by Mr Grub 2 2
Thursday 8th August 1811
Monifieth Silver Cup donated by Hon William Maule
1. ALLSTEEL, chestnut mare owned by Mr James Dick 1 1
2. SPADILLE, chestnut horse owned by Major General Mackenzie 2 2
On Wednesday 19th August 1812 the meeting was said to be not as well attended as in previous years, although the party was very genteel and fashionable boasting, amongst others, Hon William Maule, Colonel J Ramsay, Mr and Mrs Erskine of Linlathen, Misses Stirling, Douglas, Webster, Carnegie and Miller. After the races had ended a very agreeable party enjoyed an ordinary and then danced from 9pm until the early morning. The Stewards for the 1813 meeting were announced as Mr George Johnstone, James Kerr and Thomas Kerr.
Wednesday 19th August 1812
Monifieth Silver Cup donated by Hon William Maule
1. DONSIDE, chestnut mare owned by Mr Mitchell 2 1
2. ALLSTEEL, chestnut mare owned by Mr Dick 1 (bolted)
Monifieth Subscription race for a hunting saddle & bridle
1. ALLSTEEL, chestnut mare owned by Mr Dick
2. MARRY HILL, bay mare owned by Mr Miller
3. SHUTTLE, bay horse owned by Mr Mathew
Monifieth sweepstake for cart saddle and breeches
1. Unnamed bay horse owned by Mr Crichton
2. Unnamed brown horse owned by Mr Wilson
The meeting held on Thursday 28th October 1813 was favourable for a good days sport, although extremely cold. Among the fashionables who were in attendance, Lord Rollo, the Honourable William Maule, Colonel and Mrs Ramsay, Sir Alexander and Lady Ramsay, Sir J Ogilvie, Mr and Mrs Strachen of Seaton and Miss Graham of Dontrune. After racing an ordinary was held at the Monifieth Tavern where it was agreed that the Stewards for 1814 were Mr Thomas Anderson, James Webster and Alexander Petrie.
Thursday 28th October 1813
Monifieth Silver Cup donated by William Maule
1. NANCY DAWSON, grey mare owned by Hon Lieutenant Colonel Ramsay 1 2 1
2. Unnamed chestnut filly owned by Mr Anderson 2 1 2
3. Unnamed chestnut mare owned by Mr Dick 3 wdr
Monifieth Hunting saddle and bridle
1. Unnamed brown horse owned by Mr Anderson 1 1
2. Unnamed chestnut mare owned by Mr Dick 2 wdr
Monifieth Sweepstake for cart saddle and breeches
1. Unnamed horse owned by Mr Crichton 1 1
2. Unnamed bay mare owned by Mr Paterson 2 2
The 1816 meeting was staged on Thursday 1st August 1816 over the Budden racecourse when the principal race was the Silver Cup donated by William Maule. The company was not so numerous as in previous years, although amongst the respectable members were the Earl of Kintore, the Hon Colonel J Ramsay, Sir Alexander Ramsay, Lieutenant General Hunter, Lieutenant General K Mackenzie and Captain Archibald Douglas. Dinner was served by Mr Brown of East Haven and the ball was enjoyed with much pleasure.
Thursday 1st August 1816
Monifieth Silver Cup donated by William Maule
1. BITTERY ANN, bay mare owned by Mr Deighton 1 1
2. Unnamed bay horse owned by Mr Douglas 2 dist
3. Unnamed bay mare owned by Mr Anderson 3 dist
Ten Guineas Match over 2 miles
1. Unnamed chestnut mare owned by Lieutenant General Hunter
2. Unnamed brown mare owned by Major Fife
Monifieth Subscription for hunting saddle and bridle
1. Unnamed bay mare owned by Captain Carnegie 1 1
2. PETER, bay horse owned by Mr Wallace 2 2
3. Unnamed bay mare owned by William Maule 3 wdr
Monifieth Sweepstake for cart saddle and breeches
1. Unnamed bay mare owned by Mr Wilkie 1 1
2. Unnamed bay mare owned by Mr Crichton
A well-contested race was staged on the Monifieth racecourse on Friday 17th April 1818 involving seven entries, all bona fide property of gentlemen from Forfar, Kincardine or Fife who have been involved in the hunting season. The first heat, over 2 miles, began at 1pm, with 4 heats being necessary before the required two wins were registered.
1. GRAMPIAN 4-y-o owned by Robert Douglas 6 3 1 1
2. WILLIE WABBLE 4-y-o owned by Sir Alexander Ramsay 7 1 2 2
3. RODERICK 5-y-o owned by Lord Kintore 1 2 3 3
4. MILLER 4-y-o owned by Lieut General Mackenzie 1 wdr
5. TARVIT 4-y-o owned by Captain J H Rigg 5 4 4 wdr
6. MOLLY TOMAH 4-y-o owned by Hon William Maule 4 5 4 wdr
7. MAJOR FIFE'S MARE 4-y-o by Wheatsheaf 3 5 6 wdr
After racing an ordinary was served at Morrens and the evening was spent in true sporting spirit and harmony.
I am grateful to David Copland for the magnificent trophy shown below, inscribed as Monyfieth rather than Monifieth, and donated by Lord Panmure
Racing then lapsed for 23 years before returning in magnificent style on Wednesday 31st July 1839. The course was in fields on the outskirts of the town, with the starting post next to a handsome octagonal wooden stand with raised platform which gave a commanding view of the entire course. A crowd of over 15000 attended, including at least 5000 brought in by train excursions from Dundee and Arbroath. The Right Honourable Lord Panmure sponsored a race in which each horse had to carry 13 stone and was won by Aselina for Mr Scott. The final 2 day meeting was held from Thursday 5th to Friday 6th August 1841 when the Subscription Plate was won by Mr Cooke’s Defiance, the Fifty Sovereigns Sweepstake by Lady Flora and the concluding Publican's Purse by Suleiman for Mr Ramsay. However, the highlight of the meeting was Lord Panmure's Purse over 2-mile heats, restricted to hunters ridden by members of a foxhunting or racing club in Scotland, which fell to The Returned for Mr Johnstone after the minimum of two heats.
Thursday 5th to Friday 6th August 1841
Monifieth Subscription Plate over a mile
1. Defiance (formerly Aeolus) owned by Mr A.Cooke
2. Non-Intrusion owned by Mr Lindsay
3. Maid of the Mill owned by Mr Thompson
4. Lady Crainshaws owned by Mr Sutherland
Lord Panmure Purse over 2 miles
1. The Returned owned by Mr Johnstone
2. Smedley Lely owned by Captain Douglas
3. Suleiman owned by Mr Ramsay
4. St Monance owned by Mr Erskine
Fifty Sovereigns Sweepstake over a mile and the distance
1. Lady Flora owned by Mr Roberts
2. Laird’s Brother owned by Mr Binney
3. The Lily owned by Mr Knox
The Monifieth Publican’s Purse
1. Suleiman owned by Mr Ramsay
2. St Monance owned by Mr Erskine
3. Billy owned by Mr Ferguson
Thursday 5th August 1841
Lord Panmure Purse over 2 miles
1. The Returned owned by Mr Johnstone
2. Smedley Lely owned by Captain Douglas
3. Suleiman owned by Mr Ramsay
4. St Monance owned by Mr Erskine
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
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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
