The Flintshire village of Newmarket, south of Prestatyn, first held races in the early 18th Century. The village had, until 1710, been named Trelawnyd, but a local industrialist John Wynne, who had been born in the village, renamed it Newmarket in a bid to increase its economic importance. He was a leading lead miner and organised weekly markets in a bid to make the village the centre of lead mining, as well as an annual fair where races formed a major part of the programme. Unfortunately he died in 1714, but did leave much of his fortune to improve the lives of locals, including opening a Grammar School in Newmarket. He had been educated at Oxford and had aspirations to provide similar opportunities to local children. The village continued to be called Newmarket until 1954 when it returned to being called Trelawnyd. Today the A5151 is still named Newmarket Road, although once it passes the village of Trelawnyd it becomes London Road. |
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 |
