Earliest meeting: Tuesday 20th March 1838
Final meeting: Saturday 7th April 1900
The first record of hunting in Westmeath was in the early part of the 18th century when the Packenham family kept a stable and hounds on their estate at Pakenham Hall. However, it was over a century later that race meetings, administered by the Westmeath Hunt Committee, were staged initially on the Newbrook course. The Sporting Magazine of 1838 reported on a meeting on Tuesday 20th March 1838 at which the principal event was the Challenge Urn which was won by Mr Rully’s Royal Tar. The next year a two day meeting was held on Tuesday 2nd and Wednesday 3rd April 1839 on a course within 2 miles of Mullingar. The feature event on day one, the Westmeath Urn, was won by Sir Percy Nugent’s Hornsby, while on the second day the Silver Salver went to Mr T McEvoy’s Slug. The very next year, on Tuesday 24th and Wednesday 25th March 1840 the prestigious Westmeath Challenge Cup saw Mr Reynell’s Priam defeat Don Cataract and Harry Hotspur. The appeal of the turf and the accessibility to ordinary punters was improved significantly when the railway network was extended in 1852. However, the Company were ever mindful of making sure that they linked sponsorship of their Railway Plates to the potential for increased revenue from their trains, even to the extent of offering just a small sponsorship if a chosen celebrity did not attend the meeting, but doubling its sponsorship if the celebrity attended. In the 1890s the meetings were advertised as South Westmeath Hunt races, with the card on Monday 10th April 1894 beginning with a Private Race restricted to officers quartered at Athlone. The 3 mile race, for a piece of silver plate, was won by John Gaynor’s Sunfield who defeated Lapwing and Bridewell, but the day finished in disappointing style with a minor Farmers Race and a pony race. The final meeting took place on Saturday 7th April 1900.
The article below is from the Dublin Weekly Register giving results from the Steeplechase meeting at Westmeath on Tuesday 2nd April 1839, and is provided courtesy of the British Newspaper Archive Online.
Tuesday 24th & Wednesday 25th March 1840
The Westmeath Challenge Cup over 2 miles
1. Priam owned by Mr Reynell
2. Don Cataract owned by Mr Tuite
3. Harry Hotspur owned by Mr Levinge
The Mallingar Salver
1. Tidings owned by Mr Conolly
2. Harkaway owned by Mr D Blaquier
3. Mullingar Heifer owned by Mr Callanan
Saturday 23rd April 1898
The Newbrook Stakes over 2 miles
1. Lady Vic II owned by Mr Dooley
2. Roskey Belle owned by Mr P Butler
3. Tunic owned by Mr Persse
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
