Earliest meeting: Friday 25th April 1873
Final meeting: Tuesday 14th April 1891
The earliest record of a meeting taking place at Packington Park, on the eastern edge of the city of Birmingham, was a two day affair on Friday 25th and Saturday 26th April 1873. The course, complete with grandstand, was developed on land belonging to Lord Aylesford and consisted of demanding steeplechase fences and an 11 feet wide water jump. The opening race, the Yeomanry Cup, was won by the Captain Vernon ridden Pluto. The 2 day meeting on Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st April 1885 was graced by nobility, with Lord Aylesford and Lord Wolverton taking pride of place. The feature Diddington Hunt Cup Steeplechase over 3 miles was won by Mr Hunt’s Little Harry. Racing continued at the venue for the next 6 years, but when Lord Aylesford, the driving force behind the meeting, died in 1891 the meeting came to an end, with the final races staged on Tuesday 14th April 1891. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 1 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Lord Aylesford, Lord Wolverton, Major Edmundson |
| Principal Races |
Diddington Cup, Hampton Hurdle, Maystoke Steeplechase |
Saturday 11th April 1874
Packington Handicap Steeplechase
1. Dainty ridden by Joseph Hathaway
2. Humble Bee ridden by Dick Marsh
3. Morning Star ridden by Fred Lynham
Betting: 11/10 Derviche, 4/1 Humble Bee, 7/1 Dainty, 7/1 Glenarvon, 8/1 Bar |
The final meeting took place on Tuesday 14th April 1891. |
| Course today |
On land, compete with grandstand, owned by Lord Aylesford. The site on which the former racecourse stood is now the North Warwickshire Golf Course. |
| 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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| Volume 2 South of Hatfield £14.99 + £3 postage |
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| Volume 3 Wales & Scotland £9.99 + £3 postage |
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| Volume 4 Ireland £9.99 + £3 postage |
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| Volumes 1 - 4 £54.96 + £5 postage |
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