Earliest Meeting: Monday 14th August 1809
Final Meeting: Thursday 14th August 1856
The Lancashire town of Padiham lies on the River Calder some 3 miles west of Burnley and was first recorded as a settlement in 1294. Therefore, although it was not recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book, it still boasts a rich history. Today it has a population of around 10,000, but it was much larger in the early years of the 20th century when about 14,000 lived in the town and surrounding areas. Between 1833 and 1840 nearby Burley had its own racecourse, but Padiham also staged racing for a good number of years, with meetings often extending to 3 days. Those race meetings usually coincided with the Annual Feast, held in August or September. One of the earliest meetings was held on Monday 14th August 1809.

There is evidence of a further 3-day meeting held between 12th and 14th August 1845, part of their August Feast. Although the final meeting was advertised on 12th August 1856, the meeting was vigorously opposed by the Church and protests were held on each day of the 3-day meeting. The racecourse appears to have been a permanent one because horses regularly exercised on the course. In one such incident in early August 1856 Mr Parker's bay mare Young Catherina met with an accident when placing her foot in a deep hole on the racecourse and this ruled her out of the races held later in the month. The programme for that final race meeting in August 1856 consisted of:-
Tuesday 12th August 1856
The Padiham Stakes of a guinea each with 15 sovereigns added
The Blackburn Stakes of 15 shillings each with 7 sovereigns added
Wednesday 13th August 1856
The Burnley Stakes of 1 sovereign each with 10 sovereigns added
A Pony Race of 10 shillings each with 4 sovereigns added
Thursday 14th August 1856
A Pony Race of 5 shillings each with 2 sovereigns added
A Handicap Foot Race of half-a-crown each with 2 pounds added
Full particulars for the meeting were available from Mr M S Holland of Church Street
All 3 days were marred by protests with tract distributors stationed at all roads leading to the town and the racecourse, as well as on the banks of the Calder where they were accompanied by a man with a large board, having one side 'Prepare to meet thy God' and on the other 'Remember Palmer'. The main organiser of the protests was the Reverend T T Berger BA, the Curate who helped to organise the distribution of over 13,000 tracts.

Although some newspaper reports wrote that the meeting had been revived in August 1867. In the event those races did not take place because the land on which the racecourse was located was owned by Captain Starkie and he refused permission for them to be staged, claiming that they were held merely to fill the pockets of local innkeepers and beer sellers. As a consequence of the 'annual revulsions' being cancelled, a memorial plaque was presented to L G N Starkie of Huntroyde from the inhabitants of Padiham to express their gratitude for putting a stop to Padiham Races.

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