Earliest meeting: Wednesday 5th February 1851
Final meeting: Tuesday 2nd March 1869
The Oxfordshire village of Wheatley lies barely 5 miles east of Oxford and can certainly trace its history back to Roman times. Just a mile outside the village is Castle Hill, which at one time contained a Roman villa. In the middle of the 19th century the village held its own race meetings, the first of which took place on Wednesday 5th February 1851. The 3 mile Grind course was used by Christ Church College Oxford for their meeting on Tuesday 2nd March 1869 which was well-attended by University students and local citizens. The Grind race was won by the Earl of Roseberry’s The Fawn, while the Welter Race went to the wonderfully named The Joker owned by Mr Gag. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 2 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Earl of Roseberry, Mr Gag |
| Principal Races |
The Wheatley Steeplechase, The Welter Race, The Hack Race |
Tuesday 2nd March 1869
The Hack Race over 3 miles
1. Bay Middleton, aged horse owned by Mr Majorbank
2. Pye Nest, aged horse owned by Mr A H Edwards
3. Nox, bay horse owned by Mr Peter |
The final recorded meeting took place on Tuesday 2nd March 1869. |
| Course today |
A 3 mile course called the Grind course, on the edge of Wheatley. |
| 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. |
| ORDER FORM |
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| Volume 1 North of Hatfield £19.99 + £4 postage |
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| Volume 2 South of Hatfield £14.99 + £3 postage |
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| Volume 3 Wales & Scotland £9.99 + £3 postage |
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| Volume 4 Ireland £9.99 + £3 postage |
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| Volumes 1 - 4 £54.96 + £5 postage |
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