Earliest meeting: Friday 20th April 1860
Final meeting: April 1875
The Scottish town of Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway, has existed since at least the time of the Vikings. Although the Dumfries Racecourse held its final meeting on Wednesday 13th October 1847, within a year hunters and hounds were introduced into the area by Joe Graham.  It was 5 years later that the first race meeting organised by the Hunt Committee took place at Leafield on 8th April 1853, and afterwards at Dalton until 1859. It transferred to nearby Lockerbie on Friday 20th April 1860 and remained there until 1875. That inaugural Lockerbie meeting took place on farmland owned by Mr S Rogerson and opened with the Hunters Stakes which went to Manslayer owned by Mr Perry. Later in the day the Silver Jug was won by Too Late to Mend for Captain D B H Johnstone. At the meeting in April 1868 the Marquis of Queensberry’s mount fell in the Dumfriesshire Hunt Steeplechase and landed on top of him fracturing his right leg. He remounted and finished second before going off to hospital. After the final meeting in April 1875, racing organised by the Hunt Committee continued at a number of venues until its final meeting at Justinlees in 1914.

Marquis of Queensberry, Joe Graham, Captain David Johnstone

The Silver Snuff-Box, The Silver Jug, Dumfriesshire Hunt Cup, Border Hunt Chase

The South-Western Scottish town of Lockerbie is in Dumfries and Galloway and first held races in 1860. They were organised by the Dumfriesshire Hunt Committee and continued until 1875. The town has been in existence since Viking times, but it was the Johnstone family who put the town on the map by making plots of land available to ‘ordinary folk’, hence developing one of the first High Streets.

Friday 20th April 1860
Dumfries Hunters Stakes
1. Manslayer, bay mare owned by Mr Perry
2. Too Late to Mend, bay horse owned by Mr D B H Johnstone
3. The Cripple, chestnut mare owned by Mr Dixon

Whilst there was a single meeting held on Tuesday 1st April 1924, the area still to this day holds successful point to point meetings at Lockerbie.

On farmland owned by Mr S Rogerson.

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

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