There was considerable interest in establishing horse races in North Richmond in the early 1840s. By the beginning of November 1845, a subscription had been set up to organise the first official race meeting on New Year's Day 1846.
A superior course of one mile had been cleared and stumped immediately opposite the Woolpack Inn, owned by Mr John Town at North Richmond. This inn was east of the current North Richmond Hotel and it is believed this first course was probably where the shopping centre now stands.
On November 15 the event was advertised with many strict rules and regulations, including:
- Any person entering a horse had to be a subscriber to the amount of £1, exempting the cart horse race, for which the sum of 10 shillings would apply;
- No person is allowed to enter a horse from out of the Borough of Richmond, which has not been bred by the person living in the Borough; and
- Any persons residing in the districts of Wilberforce, Freemans Reach, or Kurrajong, entering horses in these races, must have had them in their possession previous to October 1, 1845, and must be their bona fide property.
The stewards were forced to postpone this inaugural race until Tuesday, January 13, 1846 due to the bad state of the weather. It was felt that with the heavy rain, the grubbing out of stump-holes may make the course dangerous.
On the Monday evening the January 12, 1846, stewards met with potential race horse owners at the Woolpack Inn to finalise the entries.
The first entry recorded was for Mr John Cribb and his fine horse Maitland, and he was charged 'five bob' fee. Mr Skuthorpe senior, one of the stewards, immediately lodged an objection, saying this was far too much.
The Kurrajongers were at present very poor he stated, the wheat crops had been very light, and the potato crop, was likely to be a total failure; he therefore considered that the clerk should be satisfied with 2 shillings and 6 pence. When put to the meeting, the vote was carried in favour of the first proposal - 'to the Knight of the goose quill.'
There were four races in total, Mr Cribb's Maitland winning the first easily. The second, the Saint Leger, was described as "a disgraceful affair." With only two horses running apparently the two owners had agreed to split the prize money of seven pounds before the race started. All completed in the space of 10 minutes, and the loser got to run in the beaten stakes!
The third race was the Cart Horse race with three entries, with a purse of five pounds. The day finished with the Beaten Horse race, for all of those beaten in earlier races. This was considered the best race of the day.
After a successful day the stewards repaired to the Woolpack Inn for a sumptuous dinner. This event became an annual one for a few years, usually held during January.
