| COLOMBO RACECOURSE |
The Ceylonese racecourse was based on Racecourse Avenue in the capital Colombo and was once a famous seaside racecourse which first witnessed racing in 1893.
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In 1922 the course was one of the first to make use of an electrical tote.
Ernest de Silva was president of the Ceylon Turf Club and managed to win 2 Governor's Cups. His first success was with Louvello and he followed this up with L'Allegro. In Governor's Cup has a long, illustrious history. In 1894 it was won by an Australian horse, Master Walter, ridden by J.Wall and a picture of the horse is shown below courtesy of Shane Turner. |
| In 1940 the Ceylon Turf Club erected a statue at the entrance to the racecourse in honour of the Prime Minister of the country from 1956 to 1959 Sir Soloman Dias Bandaranaike. |
| Today the racecourse is no more although the buildings and
grounds are used by the University of Colombo. |
| If you have badges, racecards, pictures of the racecourse or further details about the course, including your memories, then email johnslusar@fsmail.net |
