Earliest meeting: Thursday 24th April 1862
Final meeting: Wednesday 20th April 1864
The earliest date on which racing took place in the Hampshire district of Hambledon was in 1791 at Soberton Downs when organised by Hambledon Foxhound Committee. It was not until 1824 that the Sporting Magazine and Racing Calendar included results from those meetings. Throughout the 1850s and 1860s the Hambledon Hunt meetings continued, but at a range of courses. One of the courses they used from 1862 to 1864 was at Droxford, a village in the Meon valley just 4 miles east of Bishop’s Waltham. Droxford is in the Catherington district of the county and the course was at Waterloo Villa, a Park owned by Mr Friend, but for this first meeting on the 3 mile course the stand was not ideally placed because only half of the course could be viewed. The meeting opened with the United Hunt Race won by Mr Weston’s Newick. In 1863 the meeting was in the same park but the stand was moved to a more appropriate place, pitched on the brow of the hill, a quarter of a mile from the London Road so that patrons could see the Waterloo Cup won by Ribbonman in front of Falconer and Luther. The final meeting was staged on Wednesday 20th April 1864 after which the Hambledon Hunt Group switched their attention to Bushey Downs. |
| This racecourse is covered in Volume 2 of Racecourses Here Today and Gone Tomorrow. Ordering details shown below. |
| Local Patrons |
Earl Poulett, Mr Thomas Chamberlayne (Steward), Mr A Nugent (Steward) |
| Principal Races |
Hambledon Trial Stakes (Mile and a quarter); Hambledon Farmer's Cup (2 miles), Heart of Oak Cup |
| 1824 |
Hambledon Trial Stakes ( 1 ¼ miles)
1. Gossoon owned by Mr H Smith
2. Unnamed filly by Waterloo owned by Mr C.Shard
3. Swindon owned by Captain Berkeley
Hambledon Farmer’s Cup (2 miles)
1. Buccaneer owned by Mr Legg
2. Ploughboy owned by Mr Saint |
Thursday 24th April 1862
Hambledon Cup
1. Paddy, aged horse owned by Mr Hunt
2. Amorous Boy, aged horse owned by Mr Browning
3. Kitty, aged horse owned by Mr Suttie |
| Course today |
A 3 mile course at Waterloo Villa park owned by Mr Friend. |
| If you have photos, postcards, racecards. badges, newspaper cuttings or book references about the old course, or can provide a photo of how the ground on which the old racecourse stood looks today, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com |
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:-
Northern Turf History Volumes 1-4 by J.Fairfax-Blakeborough
A Long Time Gone by Chris Pitt first published in 1996 ISBN 0 900599 89 8
Racing Calendars which were first published in 1727 |
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ISBN 978-0-9957632-0-3
652 pages
774 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-1-0
352 pages
400 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-2-7
180 pages
140 former courses |
ISBN 978-0-9957632-3-4
264 pages
235 former courses |
| Copies of the above books are only available by emailing johnwslusar@gmail.com stating your requirements, method of payment (cheque payable to W.Slusar) or Bank transfer, and the address where the book(s) should be sent. |
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