Earliest Meeting: Wednesday 31st August 1698
Final Meeting: Wednesday 31st August 1698
The tiny hamlet of Winton, a township in the parish of Kirby Sigston in the North Riding of Yorkshire, is located about 4 miles north of Northallerton. It was not large enough to be called a village, having a population of just 138 in the middle of the 19th century, but it combined with the other hamlets of Hallikeld, Stank and Kirby Sigston to form a parish. In the late 17th century it is thought to have been the location of horse races, although at that time the nearby Black Hambleton was as important for horse racing as Newmarket and York are today. A race meeting was staged on Wednesday 31st August 1698 when the principal race was for a £20 Plate each horse carrying 13st, with the winner to be sold for £15. Horses had to be registered the day before the race, with contributors paying their fees to the Steward or his Deputy, Ellis Mews junior. There is no further evidence of racing taking place in the vicinity of Winton.
I am grateful to Ordnance Survey (© Crown Copyright) for permission to use the map shown below.
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
