Although the earliest evidence of racing on the most recent course in Towcester was in 1876 at Easton Neston when Lord Hesketh received a visit from the Empress of Austria and sought to impress and entertain her, racing in the vicinity of Towcester was recorded in the Racing Calendar of 1762, with details of the September meeting shown below. After the 1876 meeting at East Neston, single day meetings were held annually thereafter, and on Easter Saturday 1906 a Commemorative Challenge Cup steeplechase was held near Towcester. However, it was not until 1928 that the first National Hunt meeting under rules was staged. In the same year the Towcester Racecourse Company was formed under the direction of Lord Hesketh, with an impressive grandstand built in time for the inaugural meeting. Although racing lapsed during each of the two World Wars, the meetings soon recovered and continued to be well supported. In 2004 Lord Hesketh put the estate on the market, although he wanted to retain his interest in the racecourse. Soon afterwards Towcester decided to make entry to the course free, swelling the crowds even more. In December 2014 a controversial decision was made to open a greyhound track inside the racecourse, but this once again proved to be a good decision, with meetings well attended. The course went into administration in August 2018.
A two-day meeting was staged on 1st and 2nd September 1762 in the vicinity of Towcester, with the main attraction on day one being a Match, while on day two there was a more competitive Weight for Age race.
Wednesday 1st September 1762
50 Guineas Match over 4 miles
- Unnamed bay mare, 5-year-old carrying 8st 7lbs owned by Mr Hodges 1 1
- Unnamed brown gelding 6-year-old carrying 8st owned by Mr Wass 2 2
Thursday 2nd September 1762
50 Guineas Weight for Age Handicap over 4 miles
- Rutilia, 5-year-old grey mare owned by Mr Egerton 5 3 1 1
- Chance, 6-year-old grey horse owned by Mr Parker 1 5 3 2
- Dormouse, 6-year-old brown horse owned by Mr Edwards 3 2 2
- Foxhunter, 6-year-old chestnut horse owned by Mr Hughson 2 4 4
- Susanna, 5-year-old bay mare owned by Mr Stroud 4 1 wdr
- Violante, 6-year-old brown mare owned by Mr Conner dnf
APRIL 1876
In March 1876 a steeplechase meeting, to be staged on Saturday 8th April 1876, was advertised to coincide with the visit of the Empress of Austria. The park where the races were to be held was situated on the side of the London road, and adjacent to the town of Towcester. The Empress was allocated her own private tent for entertaining her guests, many of whom she had met through her ventures on the hunting fields. The new grandstand was almost complete by the end of March, affording complete views of the entire races.
APRIL 1928
Sir Thomas Fermor-Hesketh, owner of East Neston, the venue for decades of the annual Easter Monday Steeplechases at Towcester, intimated that once the current lease expired later in 1928 he would not renew the lease of the Park. Instead, he and his wife had decided to form the Towcester Race Company Ltd, taking over control of the course, the racing and its development. Moreover, they would apply for a licence to hold races in October as well, with even a Boxing Day meeting contemplated. They had planned to make changes to the current course, adding an extra 300 yards to the finishing straight making it slightly downhill, and laying out a hurdle course alongside the steeplechase course. Furthermore, an imposing new Grandstand would be built on top of the hill, approached by a new road from Shutlanger.
