Earliest meeting: Monday 16th July 1792
Final meeting: Monday 31st May 1909
The County Cork town of Bandon, on the River Bandon, today serves a population of just over 6500, but back in the late 18th century it was much smaller and more rural. At one of its earliest race meetings in 1792 Lady Harriet Bernard sponsored a 100 Guineas Handicap Plate, although it was famously left to the Irish Turf Club to set the weights for the horses. That early meeting extended from Monday 16th to Saturday 21st July 1792, opening on day one with the 2 mile Weight for Age Handicap which went to Mr Graydon’s Johnny. Tuesday saw a 4 mile race won by Mr Smyth’s Tinker, while Wednesday and Friday were both reserved for hunting. The concluding day, Saturday 21st July, the race for beaten horses was a good tussle between Coiner and Deasy Beasy, the former just prevailing. Meetings continued intermittently for over a century, with good spells in the 1830s and 1860s, athough each period had its difficulties. A number of meetings in the 1830s suffered from poor weather, and in the 1860s clashes with Tralee meetings caused Bandon to be postponed more than once. However, racing under rules finally came to an end on Monday 31st May 1909, although point to point racing remains strong at Kilpatrick, Bandon. |
Monday 16th July 1792
Bandon Weight for Age Handicap over 2 miles
1. Johnny, brown colt owned by Mr Graydon
2. Deasy Beasy, chestnut filly owned by Mr Deeve
3. Latona, bay mare owned by Mr Bateman |
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 |
