Recently we purchased a piece of James Sharp history in the form of an originally signed contract by Mr James Sharp himself.
The contract was for the purchase of 50 shares in Clifton Racecourse, dated 11th September 1911. Unfortunately, the racecourse no longer exists and was previously on the site that is now occupied by Blackpool Airport but we decided to try and discover the fate of the investment to see how it faired.
The first attempt to bring racing to the Fylde coast was in 1865 in the grounds of Layton Hall. The revival began in 1910 on the Squire Gate airfield. This turned out to be the precursor for racing at Clifton Park.
The West Lancashire gazette proclaimed at the time ‘All preparations will be on a scale to compete with the highest class of steeplechase racing in France.’
There were 144 stable boxes, new stands to accommodate 25,000 spectators and the enclosure was sloped to maximise viewing.
The first meeting took place on 1 August 1911, sadly the venture was dogged with problems. High prize money had been offered in attempt to lure a quality field.
When the shareholders criticised the organising committee for the wasting of funds on excessively rewarding prize money, the committee responded by reducing the winning pots. This led to much less interest in bringing horses to compete by owners, which in turn led to lower spectators attending the venue.
The final race was run in early 1915 with six races attracting just 15 runners. Following that, the military requisitioned the site for a convalescent hospital.
There was much talk of a revival of racing in Blackpool but all came to nothing. Shareholders in Clifton Park Racecourse received nothing with little remaining of any evidence of this once ambitious project.