Earliest meeting: May 1733
Final meeting: Friday 5th May 1939
The Shropshire market town of Much Wenlock is famous for launching the modern Olympics, and they still hold their own version of the games today. It was the inspiration of Dr William Penny Brookes, who founded the Wenlock Olympic Society in 1850, a seed which grew into the Modern Olympic Games. Aside from that, the ‘County History of Shropshire’ recorded that a two day race meeting first took place in Much Wenlock in May 1733, although it could not be deemed successful because the next meeting did not happen until 1820 when a one day meeting was held in July 1820. Two years later a meeting took place on a course which was an oval of barely a mile in circumference with an uphill finish of 2 ½ furlongs. The principal races on Thursday 29th July 1824 were the 10 Sovereign Sweepstakes, which went to Mr Mytton’s Whittington, and the £50 Stakes which was claimed by Sir G Pigot via his mare Miss Robson. The final Flat meeting took place on Friday 4th August 1876, after which the course was converted to cater for National Hunt racing, albeit for a single day each year on a Friday in May. Crowds were never massive, although it did have its loyal followers, and the final meeting took place on Friday 5th May 1939. Once the War was over there was no appetite to revive the races in the town.
Thursday 29th July 1824
Wenlock 10 Sovereign Sweepstake over 2 miles and a furlong
1. Whittington owned by Mr Mytton
2. Hero owned by Mr Beardsworth
Wenlock 50 pound Stakes over 2 miles and a furlong
1. Miss Robson owned by Sir G Pigot
2. Niobe owned by Mr Flintoff
3. Sal Volatile owned by Mr Griffith
Wednesday 18th September 1833
Wenlock Sweepstakes over 2 miles
1. Independence owned by Mr Bearsworth
2. Diana owned by Mr Day
3. Mezereon owned by Mr Painter
B.Thompson Plate over 2 miles
1. Decoction owned by Mr Painter
2. Unnamed filly by Scamper owned by Mr Beardsworth
3. Hector owned by Mr Wadlow
A mile round course with an uphill finish of 2 ½ furlongs. No evidence remains of the racecourse which once graced Wenlock with Flat and Steeplechase meetings. The land is now used by Much Wenlock Primary School on Racecourse Lane.
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
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The rare handbill shown below is 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
