So visiting the Archives today we got to see the Grandstands true history, the old, the war, and what they wanted to turn it into. I never knew they wanted to turn the grandstand into a mortuary and seeing the blue prints from it, it was quite new and refreshing. I wouldn’t personally turn it into one and i’m glad they didn’t, it basically represents coming into Lincoln and it’s city. On the outside to people passing in cars they get to see this old, historical building with horses and the old race field opposite the stands.
Going to the Archives opened up a wider knowlegde of how the grandstand was used and who went to the grandstand ( King James 1 in 1617, George 1 in 1716).
The main history we know is the horse racing but through researching online I found out this out;
“The course introduced jump racing in 1843, though it never really established itself as a regular attraction. Indeed, the future of racing at Lincoln had fallen into doubt when the bookies took a hand and helped to secure its name in racing history through the Lincoln Handicap.” IanS (2012) Lost racecourse 6 – Lincoln and the Lincolnshire Handicap. [online advertisment] Available from http://www.geegeez.co.uk/lost-racecourse-6-lincoln-and-the-lincolnshire-handicap/ [Assessed on 13.02.13]
Which I found quiet interesting because no one ever speaks about how they brought in jump races even though it was popular and it was stop it is still history and something that happened. We also came across a newspaper clipping that mentioned the races A.Orme who won on his horse Bees Gorse, it mentioned he won by three lenghts against Taj-Ga. Which inspired me to look into people or there horses who have won at the Grandstand. I came across this article online which mentioned the Lincolnshire Handicap winners between 1926 and 1937 which were;
· 1926: King of Clubs
· 1927: Priory Park
· 1928: Dark Warrior
· 1929: Elton
· 1930: Leonidas
· 1931: Knight Error
· 1932: Jerome Fandor
· 1933: Dorigen
· 1934: Play On
· 1935: Flamenco
· 1936: Over Coat
· 1937: Marmaduke Jinks
(IanS, 2012)
Charlie and I then spent our time looking into the old betting cards which were displayed on the table. We liked the fact they showed each jockey’s weight and the horses age. It also said in small writing that the third race of the day the jockeys weight had to be over 7st but in the fifth and sixth face it had to be over 8st 12lb. We found out the jockeys were weighed about 3 weeks before each race event. We also found out the times of the second to last race which were;
1st race – 1:50pm with 28 racing (five furlongs)
2nd race – 2:20pm 26 racing (six furlongs)
3rd race – 2:50pm 22 racing (one mile)
4th race – 3:15pm 16 racing (two miles)
5th race – 3:45pm 20 racing (five furlongs)
6th race – 4:15pm 35 racing (one and a half miles)
Looking through the betting books the times were nearly always the same and if not only ten minutes difference. The miles was always the same every year until the races ended.
Once I can upload my photos I will provide more information on today and it’s history.