Earliest meeting: Tuesday 20th September 1853
Final meeting: Tuesday 20th September 1859
Today Weston Super Mare is a bustling, thriving seaside resort in Somerset, but even as late as the 19th century it was a relatively small village, yet held its own race meetings starting on Tuesday 20th September 1853. A single steeplechase administered by the Somerset Hunt had been held near the town on Friday 29th December 1848, but the 1853 meeting was billed as ‘Weston-super-Mare races’. The meeting became an annual event, sometimes in conjunction with a regatta, although by 1857 a new course was used for the meeting on Tuesday 25th April. The course was half a mile from town on the Uphill Road on the White Cross Estate. The meeting opened with the County Stakes which was won by Mr Craven’s Van-Eyck, the evens favourite. Later in the day the Tradesmen’s Plate went to Mr Evans’s Blue Bell. The final meeting took place on Tuesday 20th September 1859, although meetings were staged at nearby Worle soon afterwards. At the last meeting Mr C Thorpe celebrated success in both the Central Somerset Stakes and the Weston Town Plate with Barege, while the competitive Hurdle race went to Captain West’s Corkscrew. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 2 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Captain West, Captain Firth, Mr M Gregson (Steward) |
| Principal Races |
Central Somerset Stakes, Weston Town Plate, Weston Hurdle |
Tuesday 20th September 1859
Weston Hurdle over 1 ¾ miles and 3 flights
1. Corkscrew, bay gelding owned by Captain West
2. Robert de Gorham, chestnut filly owned by Captain Firth
3. Perseverance, bay gelding owned by Mr T M Smith |
| The final meeting took place on Tuesday 20th September 1859. |
| Course today |
Ideally situated half a mile from the town centre on the White Cross Estate on the Uphill Road. |
| If you have photos, postcards, racecards. badges, newspaper cuttings or book references about the old course, or can provide a photo of how the ground on which the old racecourse stood looks today, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com |
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 |
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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 |
| Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent. |
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