Earliest meeting: April 1840
Final meeting: Friday 9th April 1915
The Gloucestershire market town of Moreton-in-Marsh lies just two miles west of Bourton-on-the –Water and first held race meetings in the middle of the 19th century. Bourton was famous for its racing stables, including the stables of Edwin Weever who sent out Emblem to win the 1863 Grand National and repeated the feat with Emblematic the very next year for owner Lord Coventry. The Moreton course, a left-handed course with 300 yard run-in, was situated just a mile outside the town on Frogmore Farm and Frogmore Meadows, with the runners having to cross the busy Fosse Way twice during a 3 mile Steeplechase Race. The inaugural meeting was held in April 1840 and continued to be held once a year at the same time for the next 75 years. The principal race was the Moreton Cup Steeplechase which was won by Sutton at the meeting on Friday 26th April 1864, defeating Lord Coventry’s Foxnhunter into second. That meeting had opened with a steeplechase won by Sir Charles Rushout’s Cock Robin. The First World War put paid to the Moreton-in-Marsh meetings, with the final card taking place on Friday 9th April 1915.

. Bourton was famous for its racing stables, including the stables of Edwin Weever who sent out Emblem to win the 1863 Grand National, and repeated the feat with Emblematic the very next year for owner Lord Coventry. See the links below for details of these 2 Grand National wins:-
http://www.greyhoundderby.com/GN1863.htm
http://www.greyhoundderby.com/GN1864.htm

Friday 26th March 1864
Moreton Cup Steeplechase
1. Sutton, bay gelding owned by Mr Wilson
2. Foxhunter, bay gelding owned by Lord Coventry
3. High Pressure. Chestnut mare owned by Mr Mytton

Little evidence remains of the once friendly racecourse, although the challenging brook can still be seen and is still referred to by locals as ‘Steeplechase Brook’.

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