Bryan Smart Racing & Hambleton House

Hambleton House History

Hambleton House and the surrounding area is steeped in racing history. Once the site of Hambleton Racecourse, the Hambleton Hills have been famous for hundreds of years as the best ground for training horses. Trainers from all over the North of England would travel to Hambleton to gallop their horses on the old turf during the summer months when the ground was hard everywhere else. Records dating back to the 17th Century show that many good horses were trained out of Hambleton House and many tales can be told by the locals about the fantastic wagers that were bet on horses trained here. More recently, famous trainer Noel Murless, trained a Derby winner and his ashes are scattered on the gallops. Jack Calvert also trained for many years prior to the yards modernisation and since they moved in Bryan and Vicky have continued to make vast improvements to this historic yard and gallops.

The Hambleton Hills were the scene of horse racing and training long before the days of Racing Calendar records. Approximately 6 miles from Thirsk and 8 miles from Helmsley the whole area is saturated with centuries old traditions, romance, drama and other interesting stories of famous horses, jockeys, owners and sporting incidents of past Hambleton. Indeed earliest references to racing at Hambleton - also known as Black Hamilton- date back to 1612. Hambleton became known as the second Newmarket, His Majesty's Gold Cup being one of the most sought after prizes. It is thought that this race for 5 year old mares over 4 miles with a value of 100 guineas was the forerunner of the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup.

Names such as The Hesseltines, Joseph Rose, The Stebbings, J. Bumby, The Dawson, Harry Hall, Tom Green and Joseph Vasey all hold a place in Hambleton's history. More recently Noel Murless, Jack Calvert and William Pearce occupied Hambleton House.

Equine names that were either trained or raced at Hambleton include Bonny Black, The Saddler, Rockingham, Alice Hawthorne, Thormanby, Saucebox, Vatican, Ptarmigan, Raisin and King of Clubs. The original stable yard still exists with the old mangers still in place, many of them having been occupied at some time by one of the famous horses that were trained here.

Hambleton certainly boasts an almost unrivalled connection with racing history and whether it is something to do with the altitude (1300 ft above sea level) the facilities or the relaxing surroundings this ancient training ground is steadily making its way back to the forefront of top racehorse training establishments in the country.

*Beth is currently undertaking a research project into the history of Hambleton with a view to writing a book. If you have any information or would like to contribute please email beth@bryansmart-racing.com. Additionally, if you have any relevant artworks, photos or artefacts that relate to the history of racing in Hambleton please get in touch.