Racing has been taking place at Sedgefield since at least 1732, but little is known of these early meetings. In 1804 Ralph Lambton, an ancestor of the Earls of Durham, formed a club based at the Hardwick Arms and Sedgefield became the headquarters of the Ralph Lambton Hunt. Among the original members of the club were Ralph Brandling, then owner of Gosforth Park and Robert Surtees, the father of Robert Smith Surtees, the author of Jorrocks. The Sedgefield course was part of the Sands Hall Estate, home of the Ord family and once known as the Melton of the North. Racing may not have been staged every year and it was not until 1846 that officially recognised meetings were held.