When, and where, was the first evening meeting in Britain?

The first evening meeting in Britain took place at Hamilton Park Racecourse, in South Lanarkshire, on Friday, July 18, 1947. The meeting was staged on the Friday evening in anticipation of a visit by the Royal Family – King George VI, Princess Margaret, Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten – the following day and attracted a crowd of 18,000. History records that the first race was won by Culroy, ridden by three-time Derby-winning jockey Billy Nevett. On the whole, though, the meeting was regarded as something of a gimmick.

Nevertheless, an estimated crowd of 21,000 attended the Saturday fixture to see the future Queen Elizabeth II and Duke of Edinburgh, who were making their first public appearances together. It took a while, but the ‘gimmick’ eventually caught on. By the start of the twenty-first century, most racecourses staged at least one evening meeting during the year. Indeed, Hamilton has continued its tradition; in 2021, of the 18 fixtures scheduled for the course took place in the evening. On Saturday, May 8, 1971 Hamilton also had the distinction of becoming the first racecourse in Britain to stage a morning meeting, although it would be fair to say that that particular innovation has proved less popular elsewhere.

What was the St. Albans Grand Steeplechase?

As the name suggests, the St. Albans Grand Steeplechase was a steeplechase run over a variety of cross-country courses in the vicinity of St. Albans, Hertfordshire. The brainchild of local hotelier Thomas Coleman, the St. Albans Grand Steeplechase was staged, with no little success, between 1830 and 1839. The inaugural running took place across the county border in Bedfordshire, over a 4¼-mile course between St. Mary’s Parish Church in Harlington and the obelisk in Wrest Park, Silsoe.

Thereafter, the St. Albans Grand Steeplechase was centred on Nomansland Common, so-called because it lies across two parishes, Sandridge and Wheathampstead, north of St. Albans. By 1834, the St. Albans Grand Steeplechase had become a race of national importance. Inspired by its success, Liverpudlian entrepreneur William Lynn, who had been staging Flat racing at Aintree Racecourse since 1829, staged his own race, originally known as the Liverpool Grand Steeplechase, in 1836.

That race would, of course, become the Grand National, but would not officially be known as such until 1847. Heavily indebted, Coleman staged the final St. Albans Grand Steeplechase – which was, by all accounts a shambolic affair – in 1839. Meanwhile, the connection of Liverpool to the major cities of Manchester, Birmingham and London by rail gave the Liverpool Grand Steeplechase national appeal and it effectively replaced the St. Albans Grand Steeplechase in the racing calendar.

Has a horse won the Grand National, Champion Hurdle, and Cheltenham Gold Cup?

Has a horse won the Grand National, Champion Hurdle, and Cheltenham Gold Cup? The history of the Grand National dates back to 1839, while the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle were inaugurated in 1924 and 1927, respectively. However, in the best part of a century since the three races have co-existed, no horse has ever won all three. In fact, in all that time, just two horses have won the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Grand National and just one has won the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup.

As far as the Cheltenham Gold Cup – Grand National double is concerned, the first horse to win both premier steeplechases was Golden Miller, who confirmed his ‘legendary’ status by winning both races in history in 1934; ‘The Miller’ remains the only horse to do so in the same season. In 1970 and 1971, L’Escargot recorded back-to-back victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup and, four years later, as a 12-year-old, comfortably beat none other than Red Rum in the 1975 Grand National. The Champion Hurdle – Cheltenham Gold Cup double was completed by Dawn Run who, in 1984, became the second mare to win the Champion Hurdle and, two years later, entered racing folklore with a gutsy, rallying victory over Wayward Lad in the 1986 Cheltenham Gold Cup.

What is Black Type?

In horse racing circles, the term ‘black type’ is used to describe the way in which the name of a horse, or the names of horses in its family, is printed in a thoroughbred auction catalogue. An auction catalogue page is essentially an advertisement for a horse offered for sale, but space on the page is limited. Thus, to accentuate the positive aspects of the pedigree, any horse that has won a Listed or Pattern race has its name printed in uppercase, bold-faced letters. By the same token, any horse that has been placed in a Listed or Pattern race has its name printed in upper- and lowercase, bold-faced letters. Thus, potential buyers can see, at a glance, the accomplishments of a horse and its immediate family.

The term ‘black type’ has also slipped into horse racing parlance in the adjectival sense, such that offspring might be described, say, as out of black-type dams or siblings to black-type horses. Again, this simply means that the horses in question won a Listed or Pattern race or were, at least, placed in such a race. Note that black type does not, in itself, differentiate between Group 1, Group 2, Group 3 and Listed races; further descriptors are required to indicate the level, or quality, of the race in question.

 

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