Earliest meeting: Monday 30th September 1754
Final meeting: Tuesday 1st October 1754
The village of Nobber, 12 miles north of Navan, is built close to the River Dee in County Meath and has always been a place of some importance because of its location between the ports of Dundalk and Drogheda. Even in Norman times there was a settlement in Nobber and its very name means ‘the work’ which is making reference to the moat around a Norman Castle. On the outskirts of Nobber is Shields and it is here that racing took place in the mid-1700s. The Racing Calendar first recorded racing at Shields in 1754 when a 2 day meeting was staged on Monday 30th September and Tuesday 1st October 1754. The principal race on Monday was won by Mr Henry Wildridge’s Mouse, while on the following day the £30 Purse saw Pettycoat Tight beat Bully and Darcling. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 4 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Mr Burrows, Henry Wildridge |
| Principal Races |
Shields £20 Give and Take, Nobber £30 Purse |
30th September 1754 |
Shields £20 Give and Take
1. Mouse, horse owned by Mr Henry Wildridge
2. Dapper, chestnut owned by Mr Burrows
3. Andrew, bay horse owned by Mr Smyth
4. Poppet, brown horse owned by Mr Howard |
1st October 1754 |
Nobber £30 Purse
1. Pettycoat Tight, bay mare owned by Mr Burrows
2. Bully, gelding owned by Mr Henry Wildridge
3. Durcling, bay gelding owned by Mr Sanderson |
| The final meeting took place on Tuesday 1st October 1754. |
| Course today |
On the outskirts of the village at Shields. |
| 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 |
| 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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