User:Peaky76/Chesterfield Racecourse

Chesterfield Racecourse

Location	Chesterfield, Derbyshire
Owned by	Defunct

Chesterfield Racecourse is a former horse racing venue in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, England

History

The first record of racing taking place in Chesterfield is recorded in the parish records of nearby Ashover in 1692. A race called the Scarsdale Stakes was recorded as being run in 1712.

By 1728, there was a regular three-day race meeting taking place in the town in July, with only one race being run each day. In that year, these were a 40 guinea race for 6 year old horses on the first day, a 10 guineas race for Galloway horses on the second, and a 20 guinea race for 5 year olds on the final day. In 1733, the three races attracted just 10 runners between them, casting doubt on the future of racing in Chesterfield.

"Horses, owners, jockeys and grooms all stayed at the coaching inns in town, and the horses walked down to the course on the morning of racing. At one time the Vicar of Chesterfield stopped the old tradition of ringing the church bells on race days, as he felt it attracted people of ill repute."

"The Enclosures Acts, which gave common land in each parish to the Lord of the Manor, provided a potential threat to racing in Chesterfield. The circuit lay in two different parishes, Whittington and Newbold. The Whittington Award (1821) went a considerable way to ensuring the sport continued, as it stipulated that no buildings should be put up on or around the track and no coalmines opened in the vicinity. The act also required Henry Dixon, the Lord of the Manor, to maintain both the jumping fences and the track itself. The Newbold Award didn't follow until 1837, but as the Lord of the Manor here was the Duke of Devonshire, a great follower of racing, there was no serious threat."

"Meetings continue to be advertised in the Racing Calendar until 1877, by which time Chesterfield Racecourse Committee was unable to guarantee the prize-money needed to continue to race under Jockey Club rules."

"Racing continued in Chesterfield with “flapper” meetings that coincided with Bank Holidays in spring and autumn. At these, the attractions of the boxing booths, tradesmen stalls and fairground were at least as great as the racing itself. By the start of the 20th century many houses had been built on the land inside the racetrack. And in 1922 the town council decided to put a Bill before Parliament to remove the right to hold horseracing on Whittington Moor. The following year Chesterfield Corporation agreed to give the race committee £250 to vacate the course and to cover any debts that arose in doing so.

The final meeting took place on 29 July 1924, when a shortage of jockeys led to the call for any local rider to come forward. Up stepped George Smith, who had served as a groom with the Royal Horse Artillery during the First World War. He had a remarkably successful day, riding the treble in the last three races ever to be staged at Chesterfield racecourse."

Location

The racecourse was situated in Whittington Moor, an area about a mile and a half north of the town.

Layout

The original course was tight, narrow and flat, but it was reconfigured in 1797 when major alterations took place. These included doubling the width of the course and lengthening it, creating a circuit of nearly 2 miles, with an uphill finishing straight of half a mile. In 1870, the building of the railway required further amendment to the track, with the bottom bend being redesigned to bring it inside the path of the iron road.

Facilities

A small grandstand was built at the course in 1829, similar in design to one that had recently opened at nearby Doncaster. This was funded partly by £50 donated by the Duke of Devonshire and partly by £147 collected locally. However, this did not cover the costs, and as late as 1842 more than £200 was still owed to the builder. A subscription scheme was therefore set up in which anyone who contributed £5 or more received a Silver Ticket, giving them free entry to the stand in perpetuity.

In 1852, posts and rails were mounted to mark out the track, and finally, in 1853 a further wooden stand with a pagoda shaped roof was built for the judges.

"One of the major patrons was George Stanhope, 6th Earl of Chesterfield. In 1840, having seen Crucifix, a horse he had sold to Lord Bentinck for £60 as a two-year-old, win the 1000 Guineas, 2000 Guineas and the Oaks (all in 1840), Stanhope gave up the high life of London and retired to his estate at Bretby Hall, near Burton on Trent. Here he set up his own stables and laid out a new track on the hilltops, the layout of which Bentinck in time borrowed as he helped to develop Goodwood. It's this connection that led to the Chesterfield Cup being run at Goodwood for many years."

Significant events

On 28 September 1870, Fred Archer

a young 13-year-old lad weighing barely five stone rode his first flat race winner. He rode Mr Bradley's Atholl Daisy in a two-year-old nursery race and the horse won at odds of 3/1. After Archer won, Mr Bradley sent his father a pound of green tea in gratitude.

Legacy

For many years, a local pub (now closed) called The Racecourse Tavern acted as a reminder of the former racecourse. There remains a road called Racecourse Road, situated on what was the top bend, and Stand Road, situated immediately outside what was the home straight. A road now sits along the former back straight of the racecourse, below an embankment on the Chesterfield to Sheffield railway line.