Cowes Week after its new sponsor, Lendy - The Property Platform. The festival originates from the Prince Regent's interest in yachting which continued after he became George IV in 1820. The first race started at 09:30 on Thursday 10 August 1826 with the prize of a "Gold Cup of the value of £100" and was held under the flag of the Royal Yacht Club, which later became the Royal Yacht Squadron. Another race was held the next day for prize money only (£30 for first place, £20 for second). Until World War I, big cutters and raters were raced by gentlemen amateurs
The Merry Monarch The Merry Monarch The Merry Monarch (1842 – after 1859) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from July 1844 to May 1846 he ran four times and won only one race. That race, however, was the 1845 Epsom Derby, in which he recorded an unexpected victory. After one race in 1846 he was retired to stud where he made no impression as a sire. The Merry Monarch was a bay horse bred by his owner, William Gratwicke of Ham Manor, near Angmering in Sussex. Gratwicke also bred his dam, The Margravine, who was a