Stratford Racecourse

"The Course upon this most beautiful Meadow (allowed to be one of the finest in the Kingdom) has been altered and made greatly more convenient and agreeable both for Horses and Spectators. Indeed, there was very little Occasion for Art where Nature has been so lavish of her Bounties; the Stream of the Surrounding Avon, the verdant lawns, and the rising Hills and Woods form a Scene too delicious for Description."

The words used to describe the Jubilee Cup run on Shottery Meadow, Stratford-on-Avon on Friday, September 8, 1769 as the highlight of the third and final day of Garrick's Great Shakespearean Jubilee.

Two hundred years later, it was on Shottery Meadow that in September 1969 the Garrick Jubilee Challenge Cup, a two-mile hurdle race, was introduced to commemorate the part played by racing in the original Jubilee in 1769.

However, the history of Stratford races is older even that the Garrick Celebrations. The date of the first race meeting is unknown, but thanks to a unique manuscript account made by Captain James Saunders there is a magnificent record of the races from 1755 to 1778.

There was an attempt to prevent racing in 1778 when a Leonard Court and Thomas Wesson wrote to Christopher Wren Esq. of Wroxall, Warwickshire who was the Steward at the Meeting, complaining of the potential damage to the crops and the young fences. There was no racing on Shottery Meadow at Stratford-on-Avon that year, nor did any take place as far as can be ascertained until March 17th 1836. A Meeting consisting of a chase and a selling steeplechase for a three sovereign sweepstake with £50 added, which was won by Mr Clifford's Lady Teazle, beating Mr Moore's Harlequin and 19 others.

In 1839 the year of Mr Elmore's Grand National win with Lottery, that horse won the four mile chase at Stratford, repeating his win the following year. There were no meetings at Stratford in 1843, and some records are missing thereafter. Racing had resumed in 1849, and the meeting took place regularly from that time forward.

Certain races established themselves over the years, the Warwickshire Hunt Cup was the most valuable race, and the Shakespeare Cup run over three miles with 60 sovereigns first appeared in April 1867. The Avon Steeple Chase, first run over three miles and then over two miles was a regular component, as was The Town Plate and The Midland Counties Farmers' and Tradesman's Steeple Chase. There was a Diamond Jubilee Cup in 1897 and the Warwickshire Hunt Coronation Cup was instituted in 1902 and first won by Mr C T Garland's Alvesto by 40 lengths. That the site for the meeting was the same as today's is indicated by the sporadic use of The Shottery Steeple Chase as a race name, although in 1880 (when the first two-day meeting was held) and 1881 (again a single day) it was specifically stated that the meeting was held on Alveston Hill.

In 1904 the name of the races was changed to the Stratford-on-Avon and Warwickshire Hunt, and so continued until after the war. Up until this time Stratford races had been managed by a committee, but the present Race Company was formed on January 31st, 1922, with £2,000 capital in £20 shares. At first the directors' meeting in the Shakespeare Hotel, Stratford-on-Avon, Mr J H Rowe was in the chair and held that position until February 1969 when he died at the age of 90.

Admission prices were fixed at 2s. for the centre of the course, 15s. for the grandstand and 22s. 6d. for the Member's stand. The charge for a vehicle in 1922 was 10s.

Many improvements have taken place on the track, where the bends have been banked, the water jump moved in front of the stands, a photo-finish camera installed, and the distances of the races altered. In 1969 two fields which were part of the original course over 200 years ago, were acquired for the purpose of enlarging the circuit and eliminating two sharp bends.

Improvements to the amenities have moved forward with giant strides since the first Dutch-barn cover to the grandstand was erected in 1922. A new grandstand was authorised in 1929, at a cost of £1,310, while in 1955 the Company built the new grandstand with glass-fronted bar for members, which at the time was regarded as an ambitious undertaking for a small course. In 1965 it was decided to build the new and successful modern restaurant block, with the assistance of the Horserace Betting Levy Board, at a cost of some £40,000 while the Company glassed in half the grandstand at a cost of £3,000.

In 1922 there were just two meetings while nowadays there are around fourteen allocated each year. The passing years have not only seen an increase in the quantity of races, but also the quality. The Garrick Jubilee instituted in 1969 joined a distinguished array of regular Stratford races, notably the Roddy Baker Gold Cup, the Corbet Cup for the champion novice hunter's chase, the Ladbroke Hurdle, and the Horse and Hound Cup (the final champion hunters steeplechase of the season), which has produced some fine races and some worthy winners.

A great characteristic of Stratford racecourse has always been the friendly way in which it draws its race-goers into participation in the pleasures of racing, and the course enjoys a unique Club spirit - it was the first in the country to form a Racecourse Entertainments Committee.

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