A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



1782 were won by Mr. Tombs' four-year-old 

 Slender, who was also successful at Newport 

 Pagnel, five days later, winning the Gentlemen's 

 Purse. 



The meeting of 1782 was the last held in 

 the county until 1819 when the Aylesbury races 

 were revived. It was not a very successful essay; 

 six races were advertised for the 26 and 27 

 August, and six horses competed in the three 

 races on the first day, two of them starting twice 

 and running five two-mile heats ; on the second 

 day there were two walks over, while the 

 Graziers' and Farmers' Cup, value 70 guineas for 

 horses not thoroughbred, for which four started, 

 produced a dispute ; we are not told how it was 

 settled. This year's experience discouraged the 

 promoters of racing in the county for Aylesbury 

 dropped out of the calendar as a flat race meeting ; 

 nor was another meeting held in Buckingham- 

 shire under Jockey Club rules until 1828, when 

 that of Newport Pagnel was revived. 



A race meeting was held at intervals at Great 

 Marlow during the first decades of the eighteenth 

 century. The events were not valuable nor 

 were the horses of very high class ; in 1728 two 

 animals started fora 25 prize and the Give and 

 Take Plate of 1 5 offered on the second day 

 was nearly a fiasco, ' for this prize nothing started 

 but a grey mare of Captain Brown's except two 

 hacks just to qualify her,' i.e to fulfil the con- 

 ditions on which the money was offered. It was 

 more successful in the three following years, 1731 

 witnessing three races for which no entrance fees 

 were charged. This was the last until 1752 

 when it was resuscitated as a three-day meeting 

 with three 50 plates, each of which brought 

 good fields. Lord March's mare Camilla by 

 Cade won the first race, and Mr. Roger's Soldier 

 by Sedbury the second ; but names known to 

 the General Stud Book are rare in the annals of 

 these races. The meeting revived so auspiciously 

 only continued as a three-day fixture until 1754 ; 

 in the following year it was reduced to two days, 

 as such surviving to encourage local horses with 

 50 plates until 1756, when it was given up. 

 Racing at Marlow was not revived until 1837 

 when the modest programme for two days (in- 

 cluding a hurdle race of two sovs. each with a 

 purse added, which hurdle race was one with 

 ' four leaps ') was fairly well supported by the 

 local sportsmen for whom the executive catered. 

 The meeting conducted on these lines survived 

 until the year 1847, the principal event for some 

 years being Colonel Sir W. R. Clayton's Silver 

 Cup added to a five sov. sweepstake ; in 1847 ' f 

 consisted of two days' racing, with two flat races 

 and one hurdle race on each day, each event being 

 run in two or three heats. This meeting was 

 the last held. 



Meetings of an unimportant character, even 

 as regarded from a strictly local point of view, 

 were held at various places in the county during 



the first half of the eighteenth century. Amers- 

 ham was the scene of races annually from 1729 

 to 1734 inclusive; Olney in the years 1734, 

 1737 and 1739 ; Gerrards Cross in 1734, and 

 West Wycombe in 1736. The sport at these 

 was not of a nature to require notice. 



STEEPLECHASING 



The Vale of Aylesbury has been the scene of 

 jump races from an early period. In November, 

 1 834, there was a steeplechase over four miles of 

 the best part of the Vale in which the best 

 horses of the day took part. Captain Becher on 

 Captain Lamb's famous chaser,Vivian, beating the 

 equally famous Grimaldi and Lancet ; the fences 

 were very stiff and Vivian gave his rider a ducking 

 and fell over a gate during the race. At a later 

 period ' Aylesbury Aristocratic Steeplechases ' 

 became one of the most popular jump-race meet- 

 ings in the south of England. Pratt's Club held 

 a meeting in the Vale in 1859 ; there were three 

 events, two confined to members of the club and 

 the third open to men who hunted with the 

 packs of hounds in the neighbourhood. For a 

 number of years the undergraduates of Oxford 

 and Cambridge had steeplechases, the course lying 

 over Mr. Fowler's farm. The arrangements in 

 the 'fifties seem to have been far from perfect, 

 but defects of this kind did not prevent large 

 fields from turning out and the enjoyment of 

 good sport. In 1863 there was a two-day meet- 

 ing ; the first race was for undergraduates, and 

 another for ' veterans,' former members of the 

 Universities ; this year also saw a match between 

 Oxford and Cambridge, three a side, twelve stone 

 each, for a 50 cup : Cambridge won. Lord 

 Rothschild used to be a strong supporter of the 

 Aylesbury meeting ; for several years he gave a 

 service of plate open to the farmers in the county ; 

 but in the 'sixties the meeting began to fall into 

 disrepute though the sport had in no way declined 

 either as regarded quantity or quality. In 1865 

 there were two days' racing, the events including 

 a ' Grand Match ' between the Universities. 

 Eight horses started,and Oxford won, Mr. Leathe's 

 Marchioness being first. 



The spread of the railway system was no doubt 

 largely responsible for the decline of the 'Ayles- 

 bury Aristocratic Steeplechases ' ; the presence 

 in large numbers of young men from Oxford and 

 Cambridge offered an opportunity for bad charac- 

 ters which was not to be lost ; and a contempo- 

 rary report of the year 1866 says 'a more com- 

 plete collection of the Ishmaels of the turf was 

 probably never before brought together in so small 

 a compass.' There were two days' racing with 

 twelve events in 1866 ; an undergraduates' race 

 was run but no University match. In 1867 no 

 fewer than five of the ten races advertised were 

 open only to University men ; Oxford was 

 strongly represented but the total absence of 



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