Earliest meeting: September 1668
Final meeting: Friday 11th June 1847
The earliest record of racing in Woodstock, the small Oxfordshire town located 8 miles north-west of the city of Oxford, was on Woodstock Park in 1668. The town can trace its history back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was variously known as Wodestok, Wodestock and Wodestole. In the early part of the 17th Century the town became the residence of the 1st Duke of Marlborough; he and his wife sponsored one of the first races held in the town. Woodstock Manor and Park were sold in 1652 in 5 separate lots, the largest being purchased by Sir Arthur Haselring. By September 1668 popular meetings were being held on the northern part of the Park, and by 1684 a second, larger racecourse extending to 4 miles was laid out. Records show a two-day meeting took place on Monday 14th and Tuesday 15th September 1676 when the principal race was won by Lord Exeter’s Roan horse. A similar two-day meeting followed the next year on Tuesday 14th and Wednesday 15th September 1677 when the Woodstock Gold Cup was won by Mr Edward Griffith. Annual meetings for the Gold Cup were a regular feature, and the meeting became so popular that a May meeting was also held. By 1690 a Gold Plate worth 50 Guineas, donated by Lord Lovelace, was also added to the programme and first contested on Tuesday 11th April 1690. In May 1717 a King’s Plate was held on the park, but it was not until 1733 that Baily’s Racing Register began including results from Woodstock. At that June 1733 meeting the Duchess Dowager sponsored a £50 Purse which was won by Mr Major’s Why Not. Meetings continued to be held on a regular basis for the next century until a final card, administered by the Woodstock Yeomanry, was staged on Friday 11th June 1847, with the principal cup race falling to Sergeant Taylor’s Wilton. |
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 |
