Although the article below charts the history of the current Newbury Racecourse, situated in the Greenham area of Newbury, prior to 1905 race meetings were held in the Newbury area at a number of different locations, namely Wash Common (1738-77), Enborne Heath (1805-41), East Woodhay (1812-15), Northcroft (1805-15), Sydmonton (1839), Thatcham (1865) and Victoria Park (late 19th Century).
The inaugural two day meeting at Newbury was held on Tuesday 26th and Wednesday 27th September 1905, attracting a crowd in excess of 15,000 to witness Copper King win the first race at 100/7. Newspaper extracts from that initial meeting, as well as the very first race result and very first Handicap held at Newbury are shown below courtesy of British Newspapers Online. The course was built on land owned by Mr L.H.Baxendale who became the Chairman of Newbury Racecourse Company. It had been John Porter’s idea to build a racecourse to serve the many training establishments in the area, but his early attempt was thwarted when the Jockey Club turned down his application. Fortunately King Edward VII got wind of this and gave the application the boost it needed. The Newbury Spring Cup was launched in 1906 when won by Succory, while the Autumn Cup, over 2 miles 1 furlong, went to The White Knight. It was two years later that Spate won the first running of the Summer Cup. King Edward VII's Minoru, carrying 9st 10lbs, won the Greenham Stakes, a race which had been established three years earlier, and later went on to win the 2000 Guineas and the Derby. The course closed between 1916 and 1918 when used as an inspection depot by the War Office, and did not reopen until 1919. It was a sad day in 1922 when John Porter died, for he was Managing Director and the driving force behind Newbury racecourse. The substitute Derby was planned for Newbury in 1940, but the War effort prevented this from happening. The course closed between 1941 and 1945 and was left close to ruin after the Second World War when used by the Americans as a marshalling yard; twenty-two miles of sidings had left their mark. Racing resumed on All Fools Day in 1949 when Geoffrey Freer became Clerk of the Course, and he was honoured in 1966 when the Geoffrey Freer Stand and New Members Grandstand were opened. The showpiece race at Newbury is the Hennessy Gold Cup which was first staged in 1957 at Cheltenham, but moved to its permanent home for the 1960 renewal when won by Knucklecracker. Arkle was beaten by Mill House in 1963, but gained sweet revenge in 1964, and repeated his success in 1965. The Schweppes Gold Trophy was launched in 1963 at Aintree, but came to Newbury the next year when won by Rosyth. Currently the course hosts 30 fixtures annually.
This badge was issued when Newbury first opened in October 1905. The badge lasted 15 months, throughout 1905 and 1906.
The first recorded racing in the Berkshire village of Lambourn was in 1690 when a two day meeting took place during Easter week on Tuesday 28th and Wednesday 29th March 1690. Whilst it is likely that meetings were a regular occurrence, the next occasion when results were reported in Baily’s Racing Register was from the meeting held on Friday 14th May 1734 with the 30 Guineas Prize landed by Mr Cole’s Foxhunter. The racecourse was located at the Rubbing House, close to Weathercock Hill, to the east of Ashdown House and the west of Seven Barrows. Racing was well supported by the great and good of racing throughout its near two centuries of staging meetings. Today Lambourn remains home to over 30 prominent racing stables, and its famous gallops continue to prepare Derby, Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle winners, but maybe the location of the town and challenging transport links prevented it from further developing its racecourse.The final meeting took place on Tuesday 2nd July 1878.
Friday 14th May 1734
Lambourn 30 Guineas Prize
1. Foxhunter owned by Mr Cole
2. Jigg owned by Mr Bradley
3. Whitestockings owned by Mr Major
Tuesday 26th September 1905
Wednesday 27th September 1905
Circa 1908
Circa 1910
Circa 1912
Circa 1920
Circa 1935
Pre 1945
The rare handbill shown below is provided courtesy of the Robert Shaw collection.
1957 Hennessy Gold Cup (run at Cheltenham) was won by Mandarin trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Gerry Madden
1958 Hennessy Gold Cup (run at Cheltenham) was won by Taxidermist trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Mr John Lawrence (later Lord Oaksey)
1959 Hennessy Gold Cup (run at Cheltenham) was won by Kerstin trained by Verly Bewicke and ridden by Stan Hayhurst
1960 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Knucklecracker trained by Derek Ancil and ridden by Derek Ancil
1961 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Mandarin trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Willie Robinson
1962 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Springbok trained by Neville Crump and ridden by Gerry Scott
1963 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Mill House trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Willie Robinson
1964 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Arkle trained by Tom Dreaper and ridden by Pat Taaffe
1965 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Arkle trained by Tom Dreaper and ridden by Pat Taaffe
1966 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Stalbridge Colonist trained by Ken Cundell and ridden by Stan Mellor
1967 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Rondetto trained by Bob Turnell and ridden by Jeff King
1968 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Man of the West trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Willie Robinson
1969 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Spanish Steps trained by Edward Courage and ridden by John Cook
1970 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Border Mask trained by Peter Cazalet and ridden by David Mould
1971 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bighorn trained by Charlie Vernon Miller and ridden by David Cartwright
1972 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Charlie Potheen trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Richard Pitman
1973 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Red Candle trained by Ricky Vallance and ridden by Jimmy Fox
1974 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Royal Marshall II trained by Tim Forster and ridden by Graham Thorner
1975 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by April Seventh trained by Bob Turnell and ridden by Andy Turnell
1976 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Zeta’s Son trained by Peter Bailey and ridden by Ian Watkinson
1977 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bachelor’s Hall trained by Peter Cundell and ridden by Martin O’Halloran
1978 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Approaching trained by Josh Gifford and ridden by Bob Champion
1979 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Fighting Fit trained by Ken Oliver and ridden by Richard Linley
1980 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bright Highway trained by Michael O’Brien and ridden by Gerry Newman
1981 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Diamond Edge trained by Fulke Walwyn and ridden by Bill Smith
1982 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bregawn trained by Michael Dickinson and ridden by Graham Bradley
1983 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Brown Chamberlin trained by Fred Winter and ridden by John Francome
1984 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Burrough Hill Lad trained by Jenny Pitman and ridden by John Francome
1985 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Galway Blaze trained by Jimmy Fitzgerald and ridden by Mark Dwyer
1986 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Broadheath trained by David Barons and ridden by Paul Nicholls
1987 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Playschool trained by David Barons and ridden by Paul Nicholls
1988 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Strands of Gold trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Peter Scudamore
1989 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Ghofar trained by David Elsworth and ridden by Hywel Davies
1990 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Arctic Call trained by Oliver Sherwood and ridden by Jamie Osborne
1991 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Chatham trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Peter Scudamore
1992 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Sibton Abbey trained by Ferdy Murphy and ridden by Adrian Maguire
1993 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Cogent trained by Andy Turnell and ridden by Dan Fortt
1994 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by One Man trained by Gordon W Richards and ridden by Tony Dobbin
1995 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Couldn’t Be Better trained by Charlie Brooks and ridden by Dean Gallagher
1996 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Coome Hill trained by Walter Dennis and ridden by Jamie Osborne
1997 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Suny Bay trained by Charlie Brooks and ridden by Graham Bradley
1998 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Teeton Mill trained by Venetia Williams and ridden by Norman Williamson
1999 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Ever Blessed trained by Mark Pitman and ridden by Timmy Murphy
2000 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by King’s Road trained by Nigel Twiston-Davies and ridden by Jamie Goldstein
2001 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by What’s Up Boys trained by Philip Hobbs and ridden by Paul Flynn
2002 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Gingembre trained by Lavinia Taylor and ridden by Andrew Thornton
2003 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Strong Flow trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh
2004 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Celestial Gold trained by Martin Pipe and ridden by Timmy Murphy
2005 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Trabolgan trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Mick Fitzgerald
2006 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by State of Play trained by Evan Williams and ridden by Paul Moloney
2007 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Denman trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Sam Thomas
2008 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Madison du Berlais trained by David Pipe and ridden by Tom Scudamore
2009 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Denman trained by Paul Nicholls and ridden by Ruby Walsh
2010 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Diamond Harry trained by Nick Williams and ridden by Daryl Jacob
2011 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Carruthers trained by Mark Bradstock and ridden by Mattie Batchelor
2012 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Bobs Worth trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty
2013 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Triolo D’Alene trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty
2014 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Many Clouds trained by Oliver Sherwood and ridden by Leighton Aspell
2015 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Smad Place trained by Alan King and ridden by Wayne Hutchinson
2016 Hennessy Gold Cup was won by Native River trained by Colin Tizzard and ridden by Richard Johnson
