| If todays racegoers were asked to name the 3 most famous,
long-standing racecourses in Britain they might well choose Newmarket, York and Chester.
Some might mention Ascot, Doncaster or Goodwood but few would think of Hambleton. As the
map opposite shows, Hambleton is situated near Thirsk, close to the village of Cold Kirby
and in sight of the Black Hambleton hills. Often the meeting would have been referred to
as 'Black Hambleton' although that area was far too hilly and the meeting itself was a
short distance south. Such was the importance of the meeting that in the 1740's there was
a bid to reduce the number of meetings because of 'rougher elements' enjoying the races
and loosing valuable days work. The method used to reduce the number of meetings was
to prohibit meetings where the prize money was less than £50 per race. However, three
exceptions were given to ensure that racing continued to take place in the important
areas. Newmarket and York were two of the exceptions, whilst the third was Black
Hambleton. |
A map of where Hambleton racecourse was thought to have been situated,
reproduced by kind permission of Colin Turner. |
| Racing at Hambleton was recorded as early as 1612, which
suggests that it was in place even before Newmarket. A key success factor for any meeting
in those days was to get royal approval. Newmarket got its through James I and it is clear
that Hambleton was supported by Queen Anne until her death in 1714. The cup shown opposite
was horses, mares or geldings up to 5 years old to race over a 4 mile circuit and carry 10
stone. After her death a plate was given to the winner and the first six winners of the
plate were:- 1715 Who-would-have-thought-it
owned by Mr Gage
1716 Brocklesby Betty
owned by Mr Pelham
1717 Creeping Kate
owned by Mr Wrigglesworth
1718 A Bay Mare
owned by Mr Atkinson
1719 Bonny Black
owned by the Duke of Rutland
1720 Bonny Black
owned by the Duke of Rutland |
| It seems remarkable that Bonny Black should win a race for
5 year olds in consecutive years. The most likely explanation is that she was 4 when she
won it in 1719 and she was still allowed to enter in 1720 and duly won it. The plot
thickens further when the records for Hambleton are examined more deeply and it is
realised that Bonny Black triumphed in 1711, but the most likely explanation here is that
her mother was also named Bonny Black. |
If you can provide any further details about the
racecourse or provide any artefacts then email johnslusar@fsmail.net |
| In 1779 the first race for 2 year olds in the north was
held at Hambleton. Up to this date horses had to be aged 3 before they could race, and not
long before this date horses had to reach the age of 4 before racing. |
The Queen Anne's Gold Cup competed for annually at Hambleton Racecourse. |
| It is not surprising that the meeting at Hambleton finally
died out; indeed the surprise is that it lasted so long given the difficulties of getting
to the meeting for horses, owners and punters. The final meeting took place on 27th July
1811 and all evidence of the existence of such an important race meeting has now vanished
forever. |