Earliest meeting: Friday 25th September 1846
Final meeting: Wednesday 17th March 1880
The Sporting Magazine of 1846 recorded the first meeting at Swindon Racecourse in Wiltshire took place on Friday 25th September 1846 when entitled the ‘Swindon and Burderop’ meeting. Burderop had its own meeting for 20 years until it came to an end in 1831, and it took 15 years for the next meeting in the vicinity of the town. Whilst the first meeting was well supported, a follow up meeting the next year on 3rd September 1847 did not get the local support needed. Racing lapsed again in the town for a few years until reintroduced on Friday 7th March 1873 and continued for the next 7 years. At the 1873 meeting over 15000 attended, witnessing Barcelona win the Great Western Handicap Steeplechase over 2 ½ miles, while the later Swindon Open Handicap was won by Mr Ellison’s Rattlesnake. The course was on fields owned by Mr A L Goddard, Lord of the Manor, bounded by the Great Western Railway and the turnpike leading from the Cricklade road railway bridge. The final meeting was held on Wednesday 17th March 1880.

Friday 25th September 1846

The Swindon Innkeeper’s Plate over 1 ½ miles
1. Etona owned by Mr W Treen
2. Flatfish owned by Mr S Scott
3. Eclat owned by Mr Parr

The Burderop Handicap Stakes over 2 miles
1. Buscot Buck owned by Mr Pryse
2. Buttress owned by Mr Treen
3. Mersey owned by Mr Griffiths

The Swindon Ladies Plate over 1 ½ miles
1. New Forest Deer owned by Mr Wheildon
2. Etona owned by Mr S Scott
3. Somerset owned by Mr Killard

Burderop had its own meeting for 20 years until it came to an end in 1831. It took 15 years for the next meeting in the vicinity of the town, but the meeting proved to not be popular and the final meeting came just one year later on 3rd September 1847.

After a lapse of a few years racing was reintroduced in 1873 and continued for the next 7 years. The final meeting was held on Wednesday 17th March 1880.

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

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