The earliest record of racing at Carlisle was in 1559 when the famous Carlisle gold bell, donated by Lady Dacre, was presented for the first time. The Large Bell is inscribed 'The sweftes horse thes bel to tak for mi lade Daker sake' which translates as ‘The Swiftest horse this bell to take for my lady Dacre's sake’. A second, small bell is inscribed 1599 HBMC which is believed to stand for the Mayor of Carlisle at this time, Henry Baines. However, the next reference to races in the area was in 1619 when a meeting took place on the Kingsmoor (Kynges Moor) course. Records are then patchy, although races were staged at The Swifts in 1746, and by 1773 two meetings were taking place each year, one of them extending to a four day festival. The public’s interest waned by 1839 and the King’s Plate, which originally had a prize of 200 Guineas, was halved in value. This decline continued, with only 31 horses contesting the races throughout 1864, despite the introduction of the railway. The new course at Blackhall opened on Tuesday 28th June 1904 but was not an instant success, as indicated by the newspaper extract shown below, and was offered for sale in 1906. However, a white knight arrived in the form of Sir Loftus Bates. Between 1906 and 1914 the course was saved when he formed a company, together with Charles Henderson and George Todd, and was able to negotiate with the Railway Company to ensure that trains offered excursions with favourable fares to help boost attendances. Fortunately the course was on a firmer financial footing by 1914, although it closed during the war years. In 1929 Carlisle made a bid to become the first course to operate a Tote on 2nd July 1929. However, they were foiled when Newmarket ran their first race 15 minutes before the first at Carlisle. In 1946 Sir Loftus Bates, who had done so much to forward the cause of racing in the north, and who had been a Clerk of the Course at Carlisle, handed the responsibility of taking the course forward to Kit Patterson. Currently Carlisle has 19 meetings scheduled between May and December.
The Cumberland and Westmorland town of Kendal first held races on a new course to the west of the town in 1821. The 3 day meeting began on Tuesday 7th August, although racegoers would have been disappointed by a walk-over and a Maiden Plate. However, they would have been happier on Wednesday 8th August because the Kendal Gold Cup was won by Lord Queensberry’s Miss Syntax and the Kendal Town Plate went to Miss Wiks. The course was situated on Fisher’s Plain, at the foot of the local Scout Scar, and welcomed an immense crowd for the third day of the meeting on Thursday 9th August. The final meeting took place on 20th May 1834, although racing returned to the town for a two year period from 1879-82. The meetings between 1879 and 1882 were National Hunt meetings offering both Flat and Hurdle races, each over 2 miles. The curtain finally came down on Kendal races in 1882 when Mr C J Cunningham celebrated with a treble, scoring with Central Fire and Lindisfarne twice.
Wednesday 8th August 1821
Kendal Town Plate over 2 miles
1. Miss Wilks, a bay filly owned by Mr T Hutchinson
2. Creeping Kate, a bay mare owned by Mr Blizard
3. Miss Syntax, a bay mare owned by Lord Queensberry
The rare handbill shown below is provided courtesy of the Robert Shaw collection.
1988 Carlisle Bell won by Affaire De Coeur trained by Patrick Haslam and ridden by S Wood
1989 Carlisle Bell won by Overpower trained by Bill Watts and ridden by A Mercer
1990 Carlisle Bell won by Causley trained by Bryan McMahon and ridden by Bruce Raymond
1991 Carlisle Bell won by Miss Sarajane trained by Reg Hollinshead and ridden by Gary Hind
1992 Carlisle Bell won by Spanish Verdict trained by Denys Smith and ridden by Darryll Holland
1993 Carlisle Bell won by Queen Warrior trained by Peter Walwyn and ridden by D Wright
1994 Carlisle Bell won by Master of the House trained by Mickey Hammond and ridden by J Marshall
1995 Carlisle Bell won by Master of the House by Mickey Hammond and ridden by J Marshall
1996 Carlisle Bell won by Habeta trained by Bill Watts and ridden by George Duffield
1997 Carlisle Bell won by Rainbow Rain trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Michael Roberts
1998 Carlisle Bell won by Lucky Archer trained by Milton Bradley and ridden by Kevin Darley
1999 Carlisle Bell won by Pas de Memoires trained by Karle Burke and ridden by Dean McKeown
2000 Carlisle Bell won by Kirovski trained by Peter Harris and ridden by John Egan
2001 Carlisle Bell won by Kestral trained by Tim Etherington and ridden by C Lowther
2002 Carlisle Bell won by Travelling Band trained by Ian Balding and ridden by Liam Keniry
2003 Carlisle Bell won by Top Dirham trained by Mick Easterby and ridden by Dale Gibson
2004 Carlisle Bell won by Goodbye Mr Bond trained by Eric Alston and ridden by Franny Norton
2005 Carlisle Bell won by Hartshead trained by Alan Swinbank and ridden by Fergal Lynch
2006 Carlisle Bell won by Regent’s Secret trained by Jim Goldie and ridden by Fergal Lynch
2007 Carlisle Bell won by Bold Marc trained by Karl Burke and ridden by Andrew Elliott
2008 Carlisle Bell won by Osteopathic Remedy trained by Michael Dods and ridden by Tom Eaves
2009 Carlisle Bell won by Stevie Gee trained by Alan Swinbank and ridden by Joe Fanning
2010 Carlisle Bell won by Camerooney trained by Brian Ellison and ridden by Dale Swift
2011 Carlisle Bell won by Miami Gator trained by Mrs Karl Burke and ridden by Andrew Elliott
2012 Carlisle Bell won by Levitate trained by Alan McCabe and ridden by Willy Twiston-Davies
2013 Carlisle Bell won by Silvery Moon trained by Tim Easterby and ridden by Robert Winston
2014 Carlisle Bell won by Johnno trained by David Nicholls and ridden by Adrian Nicholls
2015 Carlisle Bell won by Ifwecan trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Joe Fanning
2016 Carlisle Bell won by Edgar Balthazar trained by Keith Dalgleish and ridden by Philip Makin
2017 Carlisle Bell won by Carnageo trained by Richard Fahey and ridden by Paul Hanagan
