Newbury Racecourse History | ||||
Although the article below charts the history of the current Newbury Racecourse, situated in the Greenham area of Newbury, prior to 1905 race meetings were held in the Newbury area at a number of different locations, namely Wash Common (1738-77), Enborne Heath (1805-41), East Woodhay (1812-15), Northcroft (1805-15), Sydmonton (1839), Thatcham (1865) and Victoria Park (late 19th Century). |
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The inaugural two day meeting at Newbury was held on Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th September 1905, attracting a crowd in excess of 15,000 to witness Copper King win the first race at 100/7. Newspaper extracts from that initial meeting, as well as the very first race result and very first Handicap held at Newbury are shown below courtesy of British Newspapers Online. The course was built on land owned by Mr L.H.Baxendale who became the Chairman of Newbury Racecourse Company. It had been John Porter’s idea to build a racecourse to serve the many training establishments in the area, but his early attempt was thwarted when the Jockey Club turned down his application. Fortunately King Edward VII got wind of this and gave the application the boost it needed. The Newbury Spring Cup was launched in 1906 when won by Succory, while the Autumn Cup, over 2 miles 1 furlong, went to The White Knight. It was two years later that Spate won the first running of the Summer Cup. King Edward VII's Minoru, carrying 9st 10lbs, won the Greenham Stakes, a race which had been established three years earlier, and later went on to win the 2000 Guineas and the Derby. The course closed between 1916 and 1918 when used as an inspection depot by the War Office, and did not reopen until 1919. It was a sad day in 1922 when John Porter died, for he was Managing Director and the driving force behind Newbury racecourse. The substitute Derby was planned for Newbury in 1940, but the War effort prevented this from happening. The course closed between 1941 and 1945 and was left close to ruin after the Second World War when used by the Americans as a marshalling yard; twenty-two miles of sidings had left their mark. Racing resumed on All Fools Day in 1949 when Geoffrey Freer became Clerk of the Course, and he was honoured in 1966 when the Geoffrey Freer Stand and New Members Grandstand were opened. The showpiece race at Newbury is the Hennessy Gold Cup which was first staged in 1957 at Cheltenham, but moved to its permanent home for the 1960 renewal when won by Knucklecracker. Arkle was beaten by Mill House in 1963, but gained sweet revenge in 1964, and repeated his success in 1965. The Schweppes Gold Trophy was launched in 1963 at Aintree, but came to Newbury the next year when won by Rosyth. Currently the course hosts 30 fixtures annually. This badge was issued when Newbury first opened in October 1905. The badge lasted 15 months, throughout 1905 and 1906. |
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Newbury continues to thrive today, whereas nearby Lambourn closed its gates for the final time in 1878. | ||||
The first recorded racing in the Berkshire village of Lambourn was in 1690 when a two day meeting took place during Easter week on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th March 1690. Whilst it is likely that meetings were a regular occurrence, the next occasion when results were reported in Baily’s Racing Register was from the meeting held on Friday 14th May 1734 with the 30 Guineas Prize landed by Mr Cole’s Foxhunter. The racecourse was located at the Rubbing House, close to Weathercock Hill, to the east of Ashdown House and the west of Seven Barrows. Racing was well supported by the great and good of racing throughout its near two centuries of staging meetings. Today Lambourn remains home to over 30 prominent racing stables, and its famous gallops continue to prepare Derby, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle winners, but maybe the location of the town and challenging transport links prevented it from further developing its racecourse.The final meeting took place on Tuesday 2nd July 1878. Friday 14th May 1734 |
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I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below. | ||||
Tuesday 26th September 1905 |
Wednesday 27th September 1905 |
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1922 Gents | ||||
1922 Ladies | 1923 Gents | 1923 Ladies | 1924 Ladies | 1925 Gents |
Circa 1908 |
Circa 1910 |
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1924 Gents | ||||
1926 Ladies | 1926 Gents | 1927 Ladies | 1927 Gents | 1928 Gents |
Circa 1912 |
Circa 1920 |
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1928 Ladies | ||||
1929 Gents | 1929 Ladies | 1930 Gents | 1930 Ladies | 1931 Ladies |
Circa 1935 |
Pre 1945 |
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1931 Gents | ||||
1932 Ladies | 1932 Gents | 1933 Ladies | 1933 Gents | 1934 Gents |
The rare handbill shown below is provided courtesy of the Robert Shaw collection. |
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1939 Gents | 1940 Ladies | 1940 Gents | 1949 Ladies | 1949 Gents |
1950 Ladies | 1950 Gents | 1951 Ladies | 1951 Gents | 1952 Race Club |
1952 Honorary Member | 1952 Ladies | 1953 Boxed Ladies badge | 1953 Gents | |
A number of visitors to the site have questioned why these Newbury badges are non-enameled. I am grateful to a prominent Members badge expert who makes the following observations, I am not certain Newbury executives will know what they are, although they do have a similar unenameled badge in their racecourse collection that is dated 1951. However, they also have enameled ladies and gents badges for that year. Its possible that they were for one of the other membership classes-The Story of Newbury Racecourse notes that the 1951 club subscriptions included Original Members Gentlemen and Ladies (£12-12-6) , Gentleman and Lady (£25), Gentleman or Lady single (£14), Trainer member and Lady (£5), Gentleman and Lady NH rules only (£14) and Gentleman or Lady NH rules only (£7). My own personal guess is that they are either NH or Trainer Members badges, although I suppose that it is possible Newbury underestimated the demand for full members badges and had to order more at short notice, hence the lack of enamel. However, that seems unlikely given that it happened in successive years. | ||||
1954 Ladies | 1954 Gents | 1954 Ladies | 1955 Ladies | 1955 Gents |
1955 Race Club | 1956 Ladies | 1956 Gents | 1957 Ladies | 1957 Gents |
1957 Ladies Race Club | 1957 Gents Race Club | 1958 Ladies | 1958 Gents | 1959 Ladies |
1957 Hennessy Gold Cup (run at Cheltenham) was won by Mandarin trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Gerry Madden |
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1959 Gents | 1960 Ladies | 1960 Gents | 1961 Ladies | 1961 Gents |
1959 Hennessy Gold Cup (run at Cheltenham) was won by Kerstin trained by Verly Bewicke and ridden by Stan Hayhurst |
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1962 Ladies | 1962 Gents | 1963 Ladies | 1963 Gents | 1964 Ladies |
1962 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Springbok trained by Neville Crump and ridden by Gerry Scott |
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1964 Gents | 1965 Ladies | 1965 Gents | 1965 Ladies | 1966 Member |
1965 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Arkle trained by Tom Dreaper and ridden by Pat Taaffe |
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1966 Ladies | 1966 Gents | 1967 Ladies | 1967 Gents | 1968 Junior |
1967 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Rondetto trained by Bob Turnell and ridden by Jeff King |
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1968 Gents | 1968 Ladies | 1969 Junior | 1969 Gents | 1969 Ladies |
1969 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Spanish Steps trained by Edward Courage and ridden by John Cook |
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1970 Junior | 1970 Gents | 1970 Ladies | 1971 Gents | 1971 Ladies |
1970 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Border Mask trained by Peter Cazalet and ridden by David Mould |
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1972 Gents | 1972 Junior | 1972 Ladies | 1973 Gents | 1973 Junior |
1972 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Charlie Potheen trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Richard Pitman |
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1973 Ladies | 1974 Gents | 1974 Junior | 1975 Gents | 1975 Ladies |
1974 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Royal Marshall II trained by Tim Forster and ridden by Graham Thorner |
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1975 Junior | 1976 Gents | 1976 Ladies | 1976 Junior | 1977 Gents |
1976 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Zeta’s Son trained by Peter Bailey and ridden by Ian Watkinson |
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1977 Ladies | 1978 Gents | 1978 Ladies | 1979 Gents | 1979 Ladies |
1978 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Approaching trained by Josh Gifford and ridden by Bob Champion |
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1980 Ladies | 1980 Ladies | 1980 Gents | 1981 Gents | 1982 Ladies |
1980 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bright Highway trained by Michael O’Brien and ridden by Gerry Newman |
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1982 Gents | 1983 Gents | 1983 Ladies | 1983 Junior | 1984 Ladies |
1982 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bregawn trained by Michael Dickinson and ridden by Graham Bradley |
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1984 Gents | 1984 Junior | 1985 Ladies | 1985 Gents | 1986 Gents |
1984 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Burrough Hill Lad trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by John Francome |
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1987 Ladies | 1987 Gents | 1988 Junior | 1988 Ladies | 1988 Gents |
1987 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Playschool trained by David Barons and ridden by Paul Nicholls |
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1989 Ladies | 1989 Gents | 1990 Ladies | 1990 Gents | 1991 Ladies |
1989 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Ghofar trained by David Elsworth and ridden by Hywel Davies |
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1991 Gents | 1992 Junior | 1992 Ladies | 1992 Gents | 1993 Gents |
1991 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Chatham trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Peter Scudamore |
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1993 Ladies | 1994 Gents | 1994 Ladies | 1995 Gents | 1995 Ladies |
1993 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Cogent trained by Andy Turnell and ridden by Dan Fortt |
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1996 Gents | 1996 Ladies | 1997 Gents | 1997 Ladies | 1998 National Hunt |
1996 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Coome Hill trained by Walter Dennis and ridden by Jamie Osborne |
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1998 Gents | 1999 National Hunt | 1999 Gents | 2000 National Hunt Pair | 2000 Gents |
1998 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Teeton Mill trained by Venetia Williams and ridden by Norman Williamson |
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2001 Member | 2002 Matched Pair | 2003 Flat | 2003 Member | 2004 Member |
2001 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by What’s Up Boys trained by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Paul Flynn |
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2004 Flat | 2005 Jumps | 2005 Member | 2005-06 Jumps | 2006 Member |
2004 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Celestial Gold trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Timmy Murphy |
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2006 Flat | 2007 Member | 2007 Flat | 2007 Jumps | 2008 Member |
2006 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by State of Play trained by Evan Williams and ridden by Paul Moloney |
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2008 Flat | 2008 Jumps | 2009 Member | 2009 Flat | 2009 Jumps |
2008 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Madison du Berlais trained by David Pipe and ridden by Tom Scudamore |
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2009 Weekender | 2010 Gents | 2010 Flat | 2010 Member | 2011 Jumps |
2010 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Diamond Harry trained by Nick Williams and ridden by Daryl Jacob |
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2011 Gents | 2011 Ladies | 2011 Flat | 2011 Weekender | 2012 Weekender |
2011 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Carruthers trained by Mark Bradstock and ridden by Mattie Batchelor |
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2012 Member | 2012 Jumps | 2013 Jumps | 2013 Flat | 2013 Member |
2012 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bobs Worth trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty |
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2014 Member | 2015 Member | 2015-16 Jumps | 2016 Residents | 2016 Member |
2017 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Total Recall trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Paul Townend |
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2016-17 Jumps | 2017 Residents Membership | 2017 Flat | 2017 Member | 2017-18 Jumps |
GREENHAM STAKES WINNERS |
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2018 Club 24 Member | 2018 Member | 2018 Residents Membership | 2018 Weekender | 2018-19 Jumps |
1990 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by ROCK CITY (4/1) trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Pat Eddery 1991 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by BOG TROTTER (4/1) trained by William Haggas and ridden by Lester Piggott 1992 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by LION CAVERN (9/4) trained by Andre Fabre and ridden by Steve Cauthen 1993 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by INCHINOR (7/2) trained by Roger Charlton and ridden by Frankie Dettori 1994 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by TURTLE ISLAND (2/1 fav) trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam and ridden by John Reid 1995 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by CELTIC SWING (4/9 fav) trained by Lady Herries and ridden by Kevin Darley 1996 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by DANEHILL DANCER (evens fav) trained by Neville Callaghan and ridden by Pat Eddery 1997 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by YALAIETANEE (5/1) trained by Michael Stoute and ridden by Frankie Dettori 1998 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by VICTORY NOTE (7/1) trained by Peter Chapple-Hyam and ridden by John Reid 1999 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by ENRIQUE (5/4 fav) trained by Henry Cecil and ridden by Kieren Fallon |
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2019 Member | 2019 Club 24 Member | 2019 Resident | 2019-20 Jumps | 2020 Member |
2000 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by BARATHEA GUEST (13/2) trained by George Margarson and ridden by Philip Robinson 2001 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by MUNIR (8/1) trained by Barry Hills and ridden by Richard Hills 2002 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by REDBACK (5/1) trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Darryll Holland 2003 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by MUQBIL (5/1) trained by John Dunlop and ridden by Willie Supple 2004 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by SALFORD CITY (100/30) trained by David Elsworth and ridden by Johnny Murtagh 2005 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by INDESATCHEL (11/10 fav) trained by David Wachman and ridden by Jamie Spencer 2006 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by RED CLUBS (6/4 fav) trained by Barry Hills and ridden by Michael Hills 2007 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by MAJOR CADEAUX (100/30) trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Richard Hughes 2008 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by PACO BOY (6/1) trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Richard Hughes 2009 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by VOCALISED (2/1 fav) trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning 2010 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by DICK TURPIN (8/1) trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Ryan Moore 2011 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by FRANKEL (1/4 fav) trained by Sir Henry Cecil and ridden by Tom Queally 2012 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by CASPER NETSCHER (3/1) trained by Alan McCabe and ridden by Shane Kelly 2013 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by OLYMPIC GLORY (8/11 fav) trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Richard Hughes 2014 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by KINGMAN (15/8 fav) trained by John Gosden and ridden by James Doyle 2015 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by MUHAARAR (16/1) trained by Charlie Hills and ridden by Frankie Dettori 2016 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by TASLEET (4/7 fav) trained by William Haggas and ridden by Paul Hanagan 2017 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by BARNEY ROY (5/2) trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by James Doyle 2018 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by JAMES GARFIELD (3/1) trained by George Scott and ridden by Frankie Dettori 2019 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was won by MOHAATHER (9/2) trained by Marcus Tregoning and ridden by Jim Crowley 2020 The Greenham Stakes over 7 furlongs was not staged due to coronavirus |
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2020 Weekender | 2020 Resident | 2020 Flat | 2020 Club 24 Member | 2021-22 Jumps |
2023 Member | 2023-24 Jumps |
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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Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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