Earliest meeting: Tuesday 28th June 1842
Final meeting: Friday 24th September 1875
The popular North Yorkshire seaside resort of Whitby, situated at the mouth of the River Esk, is famous for the ruins of Whitby Abbey, for tourism which began around the time the railway arrived in the town in 1839, and for Whitby Jet. The town had its own racecourse which first held a two day meeting on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th June 1842. The week before the meeting the Gentlemen of Whitby had organised Sneaton Races, although the sport was poor and the crowd sparse. The Whitby course was laid out on the sands, while the cliffs provided a superb viewing point for 5,000 spectators. The next record of a meeting was in 1849, but it was a further 9 years before the third meeting was held on Wednesday 15th September 1858 when the feature Whitby Hurdle went to White Stockings. Yet again racing ceased for a prolonged period before a meeting on Thursday 7th September 1871 proved to be a disappointment, while the final meeting under rules was staged on Friday 24th September 1875 when the Whitby Subscription Stakes over a mile went to Mr Richard Stephenson’s Bridget. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 1 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Lord Helmsley, Sir George Elliot |
| Principal Races |
Whitby Subscription Stakes, Whitby Hurdle |
Friday 24th September 1875
Whitby Subscription Stakes over 1 mile
1. Bridget, bay mare owned by Mr Richard Stephenson
2. Mossrose, bay mare owned by Mr William Holmes
3. Conservation, bay horse owned by Mr Henry Andrews |
| The final meeting took place on Friday 24th September 1875. |
| Course today |
On the sands overlooked by the cliffs which provided an excellent viewing point. |
| 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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