Earliest meeting: November 1775
Final meeting: Wednesday 26th April 1939
Tarporley Racecourse was situated in the County of Cheshire, first witnessing racing in November 1775 with a Sweepstake which saw Sir Thomas Broughton's charge defeat his sole opponent owned by Mr Crewe of Crewe after Lord Stamford, George Wilbraham and Lord Kilmoray all withdrew their entries and paid a forfeit. The next year, on Tuesday 5th November 1776, a much more widely reported meeting was held. It was administered by the Tarporley Hunt Club which itself had been founded in 1762. The highlight of each future card was the Tarporley Hunt Cup which went to the Earl of Stamford on Tuesday 5th November 1782 with his mare Diana. On the same card the Sweepstake was won by Sir Robert Cotton's Merry Cupid. This early period of racing is known to have taken place at Crabtree Green, near Delamere, on land owned by George Wilbraham and lasted until 1783. The site of the oval course was on the left of the road from Chester to Northwich, and passing through its centre was the Abbots Moss to Norley Road, which meant that in most races the horses had to cross the road twice. Given that the course was predominantly over land owned by George Wilbraham he supervised the care and preparation of the course. In 1777 he spent £5 19s 0d on repairs and a further £5 17s 9d to rope off Crabtree Green. Although a stand was mentioned in many of the reports, there is no indication of the exact location of the stand. Records show that the meeting remained until 1783 and then was re-established 6 years later, with a Silver Cup race introduced in 1805. Almost exactly 39 years after the first meeting was staged the last took place at Crabtree Green in November 1815. The meeting transferred to Billington Training Ground, which included a sand and turf gallop, for the two year period 1816 to 1817, on land owned by Lord Shrewsbury, adjacent to Seven Lows Farm. Meetings then transferred to a new course described as 'Over the New Course on Delamere Forest'. Racing continued, on and off, at a number of venues in the area, notably Oulton, Cotebrook and Saighton Farm from 1875 to 1876. By 1877 the Tarporley Hunt Steeplechases were established on the Arderne Estate and continued to be well supported annually. In 1930 a tote was introduced at the course, and such was the appeal of the racecourse that in 1937 a grandstand was built. When a meeting took place on Wednesday 26th April 1939 little was it known that it would be the last to be held. The course was taken over by the MOD during World War 2, with a prisoner of war camp erected in the centre. The meeting was never re-established after the War and today the Old Tarporley Racecourse is open farmland.
November 1775
Tarporley Hunt Sweepstake
1. Unnamed colt owned by Sir Thomas Broughton
2. Unnamed colt owned by Mr Crewe of Crewe
Lord Stamford, George Wilbraham and Lord Kilmorey all withdrew and paid a forfeit.
Tuesday 5th November 1776
Tarporley Hunt 100 Guineas Sweepstake over 4 miles
1. ALLEGRO, bay gelding owned by Mr Kyffin
2. SULTAN, chestnut horse owned by Mr George Wilbraham
3. ROMEO, bay horse owned by Sir Thomas Broughton
4. MOLLY-LONG-LEGS, brown mare owned by Sir Peter Warburton
5. DOCTOR, chestnut gelding owned by Lord Stamford
6. NANTWICH, bay gelding owned by Sir Robert Cotton
7. SURLY, chestnut horse owned by Mr Crewe
Hon. J S Barry, Mr Asherton-Smith and Mr Croxton all withdrew and paid a forfeit.
Friday 8th November 1776
100 Guineas Match over 4 miles
1. MOLLY-LONG-LEGS, brown mare owned by Sir Peter Warburton
2. ROMEO, bay horse owned by Sir Thomas Broughton
Friday 10th November 1780
Tarporley Hunt Sweepstake over 4 miles
1. BOWLEGS, 5-y-o bay horse owned by Honourable Booth Grey
2. COUSIN TOM, aged bay gelding owned by Mr P K Heron
3. FORESTER, 6-y-o bay horse owned by Lord Stamford
4. GREY BILLY, 6-y-o grey gelding owned by George Wilbraham
5. GARLAND, 5-y-o chestnut gelding owned by Sir Peter Warburton
6. MOSES, aged bay gelding owned by Sir Robert Cotton
Betting: 4/6 Forester, 4/1 Bar
50 Guineas Match over 4 miles
1. ELOISA, bay filly owned by Mr Ravenscroft
2. Unnamed grey colt by Abelard owned by Mr Heron
100 Guineas Match over 4 miles
1. PANTALOON, bay colt owned by Mr Crewe
2. Unnamed colt by Petrucio, owned by Mr Asheton-Smith
Tuesday 5th November 1782
Tarporley Hunt 10 Guineas Silver Cup over 4 miles
1. DIANA, chestnut mare owned by the Earl of Stamford
2. RATAN, chestnut gelding owned by Mr J L Brooke
3. REMUS, chestnut gelding owned By Mr William Egerton
4. CULL, brown gelding owned by George Wilbraham
5. MERRY CUPID, bay gelding owned by Sir Robert Cotton
Hon, Booth Grey, Sir Thomas Egerton, Sir Peter Warburton, Sir Richard Brooke, Mr Crewe and Mr Heron all withdrew and paid their forfeit.
Tarporley Hunt 5 Guineas Sweepstake over 2 miles
1. MERRY CUPID, bay gelding owned by Sir Robert Cotton
2. REMUS, chestnut gelding owned by Mr William Egerton
3. RATAN, bay gelding owned by Mr J L Brooke
4. CULL, brown gelding owned by George Wilbraham
Tuesday 28th October 1783
Nimrod Stakes over 4 miles
(Restricted to 4-year old fillies got by Nimrod)
1. SCRAG, bay filly owned by Honourable Booth Grey
2. NYFA, bay filly owned by Lord Stamford
3. HOPELESS, brown filly owned by George Wilbraham
Sir Peter Warburton and Sir Robert Cotton paid forfeits
Tarporley Sweepstake over 4 miles
1. BENEDICT, brown horse owned by Hon. Booth Grey
2. COUNSELLOR, bay gelding owned by Hon J S Barry
3. BOTANIST, bay gelding owned by Lord Stamford
4. TURK, chestnut gelding owned by Mr William Egerton
The Silver trophy shown opposite, hallmarked 1766 and with a height of 13 inches, was given by the Tarporley Hunt Club to be contested in the Tarporley Sweepstake at their Farmers annual meeting in November. The trophy was awarded to Mr R Turner, with the result shown below:-
Thursday 4th November 1830
Tarporley 10 sovereigns Sweepstake
1. OLYMPUS owned by Mr R Turner and ridden by Spring
2. LADY BIRD owned by Mr R E Warburton
3. ORIANA owned by Sir H M Mainwaring
5 Sovereigns Sweepstake
1. LANGFORD, bay gelding owned by Mr France and ridden by Williams
2. KINGSLEY, bay gelding owned by Sir H M Mainwaring
The Farmers Cup
1. PAUL POTTER, 4-y-o bay gelding owned by Mr Hornby and ridden by Jackson
2. Unnamed 5-y-o bay mare owned by Mr Taylor
3. SADDLER, grey gelding owned by Mr Shaw
4. GAMAN, 4-y-o brown gelding owned by Mr Bayley
£50 Match
1. Unnamed bay mare owned by Sir R Brooke and ridden by Whitehouse
2. KINGSLEY, bay gelding owned by Sir H M Mainwaring
The Silver Trophy shown opposite, with a height of 13 inches, was made in Dublin in 1832 by the Irish Silversmith James Le Bass and awarded as the 1858 Tarporley Hunt Cup to James Platt, owned of the winner Welsh Heiress. Wednesday 3rd November 1858 was delightfully fine and a numerous quantity of the fair sex graced the Forest with their presence.
Farmers Cup, twice round
1. WELSH HEIRESS, 4-y-o owned by Mr James Platt
2. BICKERTON, 4-y-o owned by Mr T Holland
3. PLOUGHBOY, 4-y-o owned by Mr Williamson
4. ALICE, 4-y-o owned by Mr C Arden
5. TOUCHSTONE, 4-y-o owned by Mr J Lowe
6. JOHNNY SANDS, 3-y-o owned by Mr J Milling
7. GAUBY RUTTER, 4-y-o owned by Mr H Harper
8. POYNTON, 6-y-o owned by Mr W Brooks
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the 1856 map shown below.
The Hunt staged races at a variety of venues, but Tarporley Racecourse was latterly on the Arderne Estate.
The front cover/ principal races from this rare racecard are provided courtesy of the Robert Shaw collection.
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
