Earliest meeting: Wednesday 15th June 1825
Final meeting: Thursday 25th June 1857
The tiny village of Roberttown, in West Yorkshire, is joined with Liversedge in Kirklees. Despite its small size the village held its own race meetings for a prolonged period between 1825 and 1857. The earliest record of a 3 day meeting was from Wednesday 15th and Friday 17th June 1825 when the card opened with a 2 mile Sweepstake which was won by Cock Robin for Mr Ridsdale. On the final day a 3 mile Sweepstake saw Mr Barrow’s Alecto get the better of Mr Harrison’s Hard Bargain. The course was on the outskirts of Robert-Town towards Liversedge and had to cross the main highway in some races, which was to cause a problem some years later. Meetings were held frequently, with entries made at the Ratcliffe Arms Inn owned by Mr W Hutchinson. At the 3 day meeting from Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st June 1851 the opening Innkeeper’s Purse was won by Mr Matson’s Sally Day, while the Liversedge Stakes fell to Mr Pawson’s Nancy, but the highlight of the meeting was the grandly titled Great Yorkshire Handicap which was won by Sally Day. The final 3 day meeting was took place from Tuesday 23rd to Thursday 25th June 1857 and ended in a court room. The 3 jockeys William Middleton, William Lomax and James Beaumont were charged with riding furiously over the public highway during Robert-Town races and were found guilty. It signalled the end of racing in the village.
A famous race took place at Roberttown in 1825 when Cock Robin defeated Elizabeth. It was so prestigious that it was thought worthy of a special glass to commemorate the race. I am grateful to Gerald Tinsley for the photos of the glass shown below and the details about the race in the attached pdf.
Friday 20th June 1851
Great Yorkshire Handicap
1. Sally Day, brown mare owned by Mr Matson
2. Nancy, brown mare owned by Mr Pawson
3. Durinday, bay horse owned by Mr Brown
The final meeting took place on Thursday 25th June 1857.
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
