Earliest meeting: May 1711
Final meeting: Wednesday 19th July 1876
The earliest record of racing in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield was in May 1711 when racing was held at Crook’s Moor. At the three day meeting, from Wednesday 24th to Friday 26th May 1780, the £50 race over 2 miles saw Mr Barlow’s Moses beat the more fancied Sir V Vavasour’s Mayflower, while on the final day Lord Rockingham’s hot pot Sextus Pompeius was turned over by Mr Goodall’s Mark. However, the feature race was the Sheffield Cup, over 4 miles, which was won by Mr Goodall’s Ocean. The racecourse at Crook's Moor, situated at the present day Fulwood Road, witnessed its last days racing in 1781. The Crook's Moor Racecourse was remembered in verse by the famous Irish poet James Wills. It began:-
" A noble racecourse, formed of hill and dale;
Grandstand and starting post fenced round with rail".
Racing continued intermittently in the city in at least two further locations, Broomhill and off the Redmires Road, but after a lapse in racing a two day meeting was organised at Newhall on 23rd and 24th May 1859, but it was not sustained. By 1873 the racing action had moved to Redmires Camp, a 65 acre site costing £15000 to develop into a racecourse. The course lasted for just 4 years until the final meeting took place on Wednesday 19th July 1876. No evidence of the Sheffield courses remain, although racing did transfer for a short while to Rotherham for the ‘Sheffield and Rotherham races’, but that meeting had also finished by 1901.
24th – 26th May 1780
Sheffield £50 Race over 2 miles
1 Moses owned by Mr Barlow
2 Mayflower owned by Sir V.Vavasour
3 Maria owned by Mr Harrison
Sheffield Cup over 4 miles
1 Ocean owned by Mr Goodall
2 Phoeion owned by Lord Rockingham
3 Hypocrite owned by Mr Carter
Sheffield £50 over 4 mile heats
1 Mark owned by Mr Goodall
2 Sextus Pompeius owned by Lord Rockingham
3 George owned by Mr Turner
The beautiful trophy shown opposite, hallmarked 1777, contained a massive border of solid silver engraved around the edge with racing scenes, including ‘The Start’, ‘Full Speed’ and ‘The Finish’. It was probably contested on Thursday 29th May 1777 as the Sheffield Silver Cup, and was won by Mr Smith’s Why Not after 4 heats. In the opening heat he finished 5th behind Mr Vernon’s Bellimore; while in the second heat he finished third behind the Marquis of Rockingham’s bay mare. However, Why Not won the next two heats to secure the prize.
" A noble racecourse, formed of hill and dale;
Grandstand and starting post fenced round with rail"
Another venue in Sheffield where racing was held for a short period was Hyde Park, a large grassy Park which later became Sheffield Cricket ground between 1824 and 1856, and was the venue for the inaugural 'Roses Match' between Yorkshire and Lancashire from 23rd to 25th July 1849. The Pony races were organised by Mr Wright and Mr Hazlehurst who had set up the racecourse, which included a rudimentary grandstand, ensuring that every spectator could view the entire race. The opening meeting was held on Monday 16th and Tuesday 17th October 1826 when the card included Silver Tankard races and Saddle and Bridle races each day. The meeting was held again in October 1827, but there is no further record of it taking place after that date.
Initially at Crook’s Moor, then Broomhil, Redmires Camp and Newhall.
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
