Earliest meeting: Friday 25th April 1834
Final meeting: Friday 29th September 1922
The picturesque Herefordshire market town of Ross on Wye lies on the northern edge of the Forest of Dean and had a popular racecourse, on and off, for almost 90 years starting as early as Friday 25th April 1834. The right-handed racecourse was located about 2 miles from the centre of Ross, on Moor Meadow at Weir End, and was oval shaped with a run-in of just a furlong and a half. Located so close to the River Wye the course was prone to flooding and racing ceased for a considerable period of time, but resumed in 1897 when a meeting was held on Friday 22nd October. Races were staged just one day a year, often in April or May, and on Tuesday 7th May 1901 there was a large attendance to witness the opening Ross Hurdle go to Mr G Parker’s Mercury II, while the Licensed Victuallers Selling Hurdle was won by Mr R C B Cave’s Faith Cure. The feature Bishopswood Steeplechase was a keenly fought affair before Spread Eagle got the better of Deepdene. Meetings continued until 1905, with a further lapse in racing until after the end of the War. Racing returned briefly on Tuesday 20th September 1921, but the final meeting took place just one year later on Friday 29th September 1922.
Honourable Aubrey Hastings, Lord Rothes, Mr L B Rees
Ross Hurdle, Goodrich Handicap Hurdle, Bishopwood Chase
Friday 25th April 1834
The admirably chosen course began at Talbot's Meadow close to Wilton bridge, past Cobberley Hall, seat of John Holder, and along a meadow bounded on the right by the Wye, to Newhill Court, seat of Kingsmill Evans, before returning to the start, a total of 3 miles and 26 leaps.
Ross 3 sovereigns Steeplechase over 3 miles
1. SAILOR BOY, brown gelding owned and ridden by Mr Vever
2. VIOLANTE, brown mare owned by Mr Vever and ridden by Dunn
3. CAMEL, bay gelding owned by Mr Wallace Hall and ridden by Howell
4. JERRY, bay gelding owned and ridden by Mr Wall
5. CUTTY SARK, brown mare owned and ridden by Mr J Hall
After the chase 49 gentlemen sat down to a sumptuous dinner at The Swan Hotel with Llewellyn Meyrick in the chair.
Wednesday 11th February 1835
Ross, the fairest town of 'England's garden county' exhibited the highest degree of animation and gaiety, the well-known spirited character of the men of Ross in field sports, attracting a large assemblage of gentry from various quarters, and many of the gentlemen highly influential in the equestrian sporting world, to its racecourse on Wednesday 11th February 1835. The ground was admirably selected by umpire Colonel Gilbert and extended over 4 miles and a hundred yards, including 33 leaps, starting from an elevated spot on the Moor-Barn Meadows owned by Mr Barrett of The Swan. There is no better record of a steeplechase course of this time than the one chosen at Ross-on-Wye.
Fence 1 From Moor-Barn Meadows, a strong hedge and ditch
Fence 2 A brook on a troublesome slope, with a drop of several feet on the off side, and a large tree stump strategically placed
Fence 3 Fence, hedge and ditch
Fence 4 Strong hedge with a wide ditch
Fence 5 Bullfinch into fallow
Fence 6 Strong, newly laid fence on top of a bank
Fence 7 Good, strong fence into a turnip field
Fence 8 Fence amongst the turnips with ruts on both sides
Fence 9 Easy fence
Fence 10 Hedge and ditch
Fences 11-14 Nice easy fences
Fence 15 A hedge
Fence 16 Fence with a drop into a meadow
Fence 17 Newly laid fence at the bottom of the meadow
Fence 18 Drop leap into meadow
Fence 19 Awkward brook
Fences 20-23 Moderate fences
Fence 24 Stiff Fence
Fences 25-28 Moderate leaps
Fence 29 Seven feet high bank and gate
Fence 30 Bank of similar dimension
Fence 31 Rough meadow with water grips
Fence 32 Brook, 3 yards wide
Fence 33 Inviting brook
Ross Steeplechase over 4 miles
1. REDMAN, chestnut gelding owned by Captain George (pink jacket, white sleeves, black cap) ridden by Bradley
2. PADDY, chestnut horse owned by Mr Vernon Graham (white body, crimson sleeves, black cap) ridden by Powell
3. ALLPIPES, bay horse owned by Mr Vevers (sky blue jacket and cap) ridden by Captain Becher
4. FROLIC, grey gelding owned by Mr Peyton (crimson jacket, black cap) ridden by Scroope
5. CALIPH, brown gelding owned by Mr Baring (black jacket, white cap) ridden by Christian
6. BOBADIL, bay gelding owned by Mr W Pitt (rose, white cap) ridden by Hodges
7. SYLPH, bay mare owned by Mr Llewellyn Meyrick (yellow, crimson stripes, black cap) ridden by Dunne
8. FUGLEMAN, grey gelding owned and ridden by Mr D'Oyly (white, white cap)
9. PETER, bay gelding owned and ridden by Mr Barrett (white sleeves and cap)
Ross 2nd Chase over 2 miles
1. BONES, bay horse owned by Mr Baker and ridden by Christian
2. VIOLANTE, bay mare owned by Mr Hall and ridden by Verry
3. KATCH, bay gelding owned and ridden by Mr Hodges
4. LUCY, bay mare owned and ridden by Mr Cotterell
After racing 70 gentlemen dined at The Swan Hotel, Sir R Price was in the chair.
Tuesday 23rd February 1836
Admirers of the bold and animating sport of steeplechasing assembled in great numbers at Ross-on-Wye on Tuesday 23rd February 1836 to enjoy a field day of extraordinary interest. The start of the principal race was at Rye Meadows, a quarter of a mile from the town centre, on the Gloucester road, taking the direction of Broad Meadow and crossing the Rudhall Park, Lord Ashburton's property, to a mill-pond at Foxhall, returning in the opposite direction through Rudhall Park to Kingston and then in a straight line to the finishing post, a point close to the starting position, a total of 4 miles and 42 leaps.
Ross £25 Steeplechase over 4 miles
1. SALADIN, chestnut gelding owned by Mr Thompson and ridden by Powell
2. MAID OF THE GROVE, chestnut mare owned by Mr Meyrick and ridden by Clinton
3. GAME COCK, bay gelding owned by Mr Collett and ridden by Patrick
Ross 2nd Chase over 2 miles
1. BUFFER, chestnut gelding owned by Captain Scott and ridden by Powell
2. Unnamed brown horse owned by Mr Maile and ridden by Clinton
3. CONSERVATIVE, bay horse owned by Mr Parkinson
4. PERRYSTONE, roan horse owned by Mr W Hall
5. Unnamed bay mare owned Mr Tranter
After racing the ordinary took place at the King's Head Hotel, Ross, hosted by Mr Gardner.
Given that there were only 11 meetings held at Ross-On-Wye under rules, and one of those was in 1836, it is easy to pinpoint the most successful horse and top jockey at the meeting.
Top Horse was MERRY MONK with 2 wins
Top Jockey was Mr A W Wood with 6 wins
Bishopswood Steeplechase over 3 miles
1. Spread Eagle, aged horse owned by Mr W B Partridge
2. Deepdene, aged horse owned by Mr R C B Cave
3. Celebration, aged horse owned by Mr W Gardiner-Torrance
The course was used for trotting races after National Hunt racing ceased, but today little evidence remains of the course.
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
