Welcome to my first item for the new Plumpton web site. When Claire Sheppard asked me if I would contribute to the web site I was pleased to accept because Plumpton is one of my favourite racecourses and as you may know I wrote the book on the history of Plumpton back in 2000 and more recently produced the Complete Record a statistical celebration of Plumpton’s 125 years.

So the first thing was to decide what I was going to write about. Never having had a professional role in racing I decided to write about my racing experiences as a normal racegoer, mainly about Plumpton but also racing matters in general. I shall try to entertain, awaken some memories in those who have enjoyed Plumpton over the years and perhaps encourage those who by visiting this website will be enticed to experience for themselves the joy of a day at Plumpton Races. That I shall achieve all those objectives is perhaps hoping for too much but I shall give it a try.

One thing I can guarantee is that if you look here for tips I’m afraid you will be sadly disappointed as I am probably the world’s worst tipster and wouldn’t inflict that on anybody.

Anyway 2009 has not only been the year that Plumpton celebrated its 125th anniversary as a racecourse, but it is also the 40th anniversary of my first visit to the track. It was on Saturday 5 April 1969, the first day of the Easter Meeting. The first race on the card the Hastings Selling Handicap Steeplechase was worth £272 to the winner and went to Pieter Graham II trained at Stockbridge in Hampshire by Vernon Cross and ridden for him by Jimmy Fox. Pieter Graham was owned by Lt-Col V E le Marchant, who in 1972 won the Royal Artillery Gold Cup at Sandown Park with The Ghost. Pieter Graham started at 3/1 3rd favourite behind Royal Cage the 9/4 favourite trained by H ‘Frenchie’ Nicholson and Do or Die who started at 5/2. Do or Die trained by Albert Neaves in Kent was a regular around the South East circuit but despite having a deal of ability in his class also had a mind of his own and that afternoon, and not for the first time, showed his ‘moody side’ by refusing.

Sixteen runners went to post for the third race the Three-Mile Novices’ Steeplechase and only five of them got round headed by Anthony’s Choice ridden by Paul Kelleway for trainer Roddy Armytage. Anthony’s Choice finished six lengths in front of Paguera who David McCarthy rode for trainer Albert Davison, grandfather of Gemma Gracey-Davison who you will be likely to see riding at Plumpton this season.

David Mould one of the most stylish riders of his day and attached to Peter Cazalet’s Tonbridge stable that housed the majority of the Queen Mother’s horses won the fourth race on Panguin for the Epsom stable of Peter Ashworth and Kent based rider Clive Chapman won the Falmer Chase on Woodland Green trained at Charing by Chris Nesfield for Lady Rootes.

Looking at the racecard for that day admission to the Regency Stand, now known as the Members or Premier Enclosure, was £2 with the Grandstand enclosure (Tattersalls) costing £1.25 or 25 shillings as it was then. In those days there was also a separate silver ring roughly where the marquee now stands for which admission was twelve shillings and six pence (62_p) and the centre of the course just eight shillings and six pence (42_p). Things have changed in many ways and I couldn’t have dreamed then that the World Wide Web would ever exist or that I would be writing my first column for the Plumpton web site.

40 years on we look forward to the first day of Plumpton’s 2009/10 season. Hopefully I will be back after that meeting with some more thoughts both past and present.