williamhill.com WARK RACECOURSE

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The Northumberland village of Wark lies on the River Tyne just 12 miles north of Hexham. In the days of the Vikings the village had an earthworks, and the mounds still can be seen today in the south of the village. In the mid-1800s the village organised its own series of races under rules, the first of which took place in 1854. Despite being so close to Hexham which, to this day has a very successful racecourse, Wark races were popular and continued for the next 24 years.

Local Patrons  
Principal Races  

The final meeting took place on 16th May 1878.

Course today  
If you have photos, postcards, racecards. badges, newspaper cuttings or book references about the old course, or can provide a photo of how the ground on which the old racecourse stood looks today, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com

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