{{Use dmy dates, date=April 2022
The Pony Turf Club was a body which regulated the racing of horses of under 15 hands in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
from its foundation in 1923 until the early 1950s.
The club was founded by Major R G Alexander, and was officially recognised by the
Jockey Club
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the United Kingdom. It owns 15 of Britain's famous racecourses, including Aintree Racecourse, Aintree, Cheltenham Racecourse, Cheltenham, Epsom Downs Racecourse, Epsom ...
in 1924 following the support of
Lord Derby
Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley, 14th Earl of Derby (29 March 1799 – 23 October 1869), known as Lord Stanley from 1834 to 1851, was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served three times as Prime Minister of the United K ...
. The Stewards by 1929 included The
Earl of Carnarvon
Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled Caernarfon, having b ...
,
Sir William Bass
Baron Burton, of Burton-on-Trent and of Rangemore in the County of Stafford, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1897 for the prominent brewer, philanthropist and Liberal politician Michael Bass, 1st Baron Bu ...
Northolt
Northolt is a town in North West London, England, spread across both sides of the A40 trunk road. It is west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the seven major towns that make up the London Borough of Ealing and a smaller part in th ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
and during the 1930s pony races are recorded as being held throughout the South West of England, as well as at Portsmouth Park (Paulsgrove),
Worthing
Worthing ( ) is a seaside town and borough in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 113,094 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Br ...
,
Chelmsford
Chelmsford () is a city in the City of Chelmsford district in the county of Essex, England. It is the county town of Essex and one of three cities in the county, along with Colchester and Southend-on-Sea. It is located north-east of London ...
,
Southend
Southend-on-Sea (), commonly referred to as Southend (), is a coastal city and unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in south-eastern Essex, England. It lies on the nor ...
Swansea
Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...
and
Lilleshall Hall
Lilleshall Hall is a large former country house and estate in the fields of Lilleshall, Shropshire, England.
It is run by Serco Leisure Operating Ltd on behalf of Sport England as one of three National Sports Centres, alongside Bisham Abbey ...
,
Shropshire
Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
br> Racing ceased at Northolt in 1940 and the racecourse in controversial circumstances did not reopen after the War.
In 1947 after a lapse of nearly seven years PTC racing restarted at the former National Hunt racecourses at
Hawthorn Hill
Hawthorn Hill is the house that served as the post-1914 home of Orville, Milton and Katharine Wright. Located in Oakwood, Ohio, Wilbur and Orville Wright intended for it to be their joint home, but Wilbur died in 1912, before the home's 19 ...
,
Maidenhead
Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...
,
Berkshire
Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
and
Shirley
Shirley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Shirley'' (novel), an 1849 novel by Charlotte Brontë
* ''Shirley'' (1922 film), a British silent film
* ''Shirley'' (2020 film), an American biographical film about Shirley Jackson
* ''Shirley'' ( ...
in the West Midlands. Further investment was made in a track at
Mallory Park
Mallory Park is a motor racing circuit situated in the village of Kirkby Mallory, just off the A47 road, A47, between Leicester and Hinckley, in central England. Originally used for Grass track racing, grass-track until 1955, a new, basicall ...
, near
Kirkby Mallory
Kirkby Mallory is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Kirkby Mallory, Peckleton and Stapleton, in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 231.
It is known mainly ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
, although this was never completed and the site was put to other use Racing briefly prospered and in 1949 the former jumping courses of Colwall Park and Newport joined the circuit. That year over sixty fixtures were planned at five venues; there were then over sixty training stables, nearly seventy jockeys and a further twenty licensed apprentices. The 60 ponies registered to race in March 1947 had increased in the following two years to nearly 600.
Lack of finance, however, had always been the sport's problem. Mallory Park never opened and Colwall Park and Newport did not race again after that year. As the number of ponies in training rapidly decreased so did the number of spectators. Hawthorn Hill held its last meeting in October 1951 to nearly empty stands. Shirley Park soldiered on up to November 1953. The Stewards of the Pony Turf Club announced there would be no further meetings the following January and the Club itself formally went into
liquidation
Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...
in 1956.
In the early 1960s, the Pony Racing Society was founded and held a few meetings; it was not recognised by the Jockey Club and soon failed.
In the early 60s the track was purchased by Sidney Barnett (my father), Rosser Chinn, and Morry and John Lipton. They ran a few races for two or three years then they sold the land to the Cadbury family and it was developed.