A HISTORY OF NOTTINGHAMSHIRE 



The Calendar for that year (1779) sets out 

 the return of the race thus : 



THE NOTTINGHAM SWEEPSTAKES of 25 gs. each (40 

 subscribers) for four-year-olds, colts 8 st. 7 lb., 

 fillies 8 st. 4 lb. Over the course. 



Mr. Wentworth's br. c. Honest Robin by Black 



Prince I 



H.R.H. Duke of Cumberland's ch. f. Pomona by 



Herod 2 



Lord Rockingham's b. f. by Herod .... 3 



Sir L. Dundas's ch. c. Prince Ferdinand by Herod 4 



Lord Abingdon's b. f. by Herod 5 



Mr. Greville's gr. f. by Goldfinder .... 6 



Mr. Lechmere's f. by Dux 7 



Mr. Gascoyne's f. Hip by Herod 8 



Mr. Douglas's f. Sting by Herod 9 



Lord Craven's b. c. Bacon Face by Wild Air . 10 



Sir C. Bunbury's b. c. Wormwood by Herod . 1 1 



Betting : 7 to 4 against Honest Robin, 5 to 2 

 against Lord Rockingham's f., 7 to 2 against Sting, 

 10 to i against Pomona, and 10 to I against Prince 

 Ferdinand. 



It is remarkable that no fewer than seven of 

 the eleven starters were by Herod evidence of 

 the esteem in which the great horse was held at 

 that period. 



In 1795 the races seem to have fallen upon 

 evil times. The fixture was arranged for 4, 5, 

 and 6 August, and the events were singularly 

 unproductive of sport. On the first day the 

 King's Purse of 100 gs. was a walk-over for 

 Mr. Hutchinson's Constitution, and in the Four- 

 year-old Plate there was no race, only one horse 

 being entered. The second day produced but 

 two competitors for the Three-year-old Plate, 

 which was won with the greatest ease in the first 

 heat by Mr. Milbank's Sober Robin, and the 

 Hunters' Sweepstakes was carried off by Mr. 

 Limbey's Mischief, which beat Mr. Ichabod 

 Wright's Draper with almost equal ease. On 

 the third day there was no race for the Aged 

 Plate, so that out of five races advertised to take 

 place in the three days there were only two heats. 

 This appears to have been the beginning of a 

 period of depression ; but later there came a re- 

 vival, and the opening year of the igth century 

 witnessed excellent sport on two out of the three 

 clays upon which racing was held. The races 

 took place in the first week in August, and the 

 events comprised the following : 



Tuesday : His Majesty's Plate of 100 gs. for 

 horses of all ages ; the best of three 4-mile 

 heats ; the Hunters' Sweepstakes of 5 gs. each ; 

 50 given by the members for the county for 

 three-year-olds. 



Wednesday : The Noblemen's and Gentle- 

 men's Plate of ^50 for four-year-olds, best of 

 three 2-mile heats; a Gold Cup value IOO gs., 

 one 2-mile heat. 



Thursday : A Maiden Plate of 50, given by 

 the town of Nottingham, and also a Sweepstakes 

 of 20 gs. for three-year-olds. 



Well-known racing men of the period were 

 Lord Stamford, Lord Grey, Sir H. Williamson, 

 Mr. Savile, Captain Musters, and Mr. Smith- 

 Wright. The King's Plate was won by Mr. 

 Johnson's four-year-old Sir Solomon, which also- 

 secured the Noblemen's Plate, and carried off the 

 Gold Cup in the following year. Much difficulty 

 was experienced at this time owing to unautho- 

 rized persons encroaching on the course while the 

 races were being run, and accidents were of some- 

 what frequent occurrence. For example, in 1801 

 Captain Musters not only lost a race, but he and 

 his horse were injured, through an imprudent 

 individual getting in the way. 



The races were continued for some years on 

 the lines indicated above, but in 1810 there was 

 an addition to the programme of a Cocktail 

 Stakes, for hunters warranted not thoroughbred ; 

 but it attracted only one competitor. When the 

 1813 meeting came round local race-goers saw 

 that a new course had been made, while two 

 additional sweepstakes were added to the pro- 

 gramme, and the time of starting was altered 

 from five to two o'clock. In addition, there were 

 also three matches arranged, one for 100 gs. and 

 two for 50 gs. each. All this induced a revival 

 of interest, and there was an exceptionally large 

 attendance. The races were the most successful 

 that had taken place since the great races of 

 1777-9. The fixture in the following August 

 was described as the Centenary meeting. Among 

 the company present were the Duke of Portland, 

 Viscount Newark, Sir J. Borlace Warren, bart.,. 

 and Admiral Frank. For many years before and 

 after this date it was customary to wind up the 

 races with a ' main of cocks,' and later in the 

 evening there was a grand ball at the Assembly 

 Rooms. By 1820 the County Members' Plate 

 had been increased to 60, and the plate given 

 by the town of Nottingham to the same amount. 

 The sport upon the whole was better this year 

 than for several years past, and on the second 

 day there was a vast assembly. Several new 

 stakes were opened and filled well. 



In 1831, owing to the Reform Riots, when 

 Nottingham Castle was burned down by the 

 mob, no meeting was held in Nottingham, threats 

 having been made by the rioters that they would 

 injure any horses sent to compete. 



Many famous racehorses have been seen on 

 the Nottingham race-course. The great Eclipse, 

 winner of eleven King's Plates, as well as many- 

 other races, won the King's Plate here in the 1 8th 

 century, and in October 1836 Mundig, a Derby 

 winner, ran in the race for the King's Plate. 

 This was the first occasion upon which the 

 meeting was held in October, the summer meet- 

 ings, for a few years before this, having invari- 

 ably proved a failure. The departure was not 

 regarded with favour by all local patrons of the 

 Turf, some of them withholding their subscrip- 

 tions to the Town Plate, but the races were well 









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