Epsom Downs Racecourse the turf. In the summer of 1779 Edward Smith-Stanley, 12th Earl of Derby, organised a race for himself and his friends to race their three-year-old fillies. He named it the Oaks after his nearby estate. The race became so successful that in the following year 1780 a new race was added for three-year old colts and fillies—-the Derby. In 1784 the course was extended to its current distance of a mile and a half and Tattenham Corner was introduced. Henry Dorling, step-father to cookery writer Mrs Beeton, was a Clerk of the Course at Epsom, appointed in 1840. In 1913
Oswestry Race Course enabled both horses and racegoers to travel further afield to the larger racecourses. The final meeting was held in September 1848, the same year that the Shrewsbury to Chester railway line opened. Today, significant evidence of the old racecourse remains, including the remains of the figure-of-eight course and grandstand. Due to its elevation, there are extensive views of the surrounding countryside from the site. It has a variety of different habitats including, scrub, woodland, heathland, ponds, wildflowers and unimproved, and marshy grasslands. This supports a wide assortment of birds and insects, including willow warbler, chiffchaff and linnets. Oswestry Race Course