Earliest meeting: Friday 27th December 1850
Final meeting: Saturday 27th January 1866
The small Welsh village of Raglan, in Monmouthshire, is situated some 14 kilometres south-west of Monmouth and boasts a magnificent castle. Raglan Castle was built for William ap Thomas who was a member of the Welsh gentry. His family later became known as the Herbert family, and his son William became the 1st Earl of Pembroke. The village held its own race meetings, initially on Friday 27th December 1850, but later a more entertaining meeting was held across fields on the outer edge of the village. The inaugural meeting was held on a 3 ½ mile course entirely visible from the starting field, although a small section had to be traversed twice. The opening Sweepstake, restricted to horses owned by tradesmen or farmers resident in Monmouthshire, was won by Mr Malden’s Miss Fanny, beating Catharine and Black Duchess. Although the day finished with a Pony Race, there was also a Hurdle Race over 2 ½ miles and 6 flights of hurdles which saw Mr Morgan’s Breach of Promise defeat Miss Fanny and Pride of Eden. The second meeting, held on Saturday 27th January 1866, consisted of a pair of Matches, the second of which saw Mr T F Edward’s Cabin Boy defeat Mr Lane’s Alice. However, the first Match was controversial and matched Charley and True Blue. The former won the match, after which a Dinner was held at the Beaufort Arms when runner-up True Blue was raffled and won by a gentleman from Crickhowell. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 3 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Mr C H Rhys & Mr Martin Malden (Stewards), Mr T F Edwards, Mr Joseph Frost |
| Principal Races |
Raglan Hurdle Match, Raglan Sweepstake |
Saturday 27th January 1866
Raglan Hurdle Match
1. Charley, aged horse owned by Mr T F Edwards
2. True Blue, aged horse owned by Mr Joseph Frost |
| The final meeting took place on Saturday 27th January 1866. |
| Course today |
A 3 ½ mile course cleverly chosen so that the entire course was visible from the starting field. |
| 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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